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Jan 2013 - Vol 8, Issue 1
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Happy New Year!
Greetings,
I hope everyone enjoyed their Holidays and that you are ready to start this New Year. What will 2013 bring us? I may regret asking you that question in the middle of Congressional budget chaos, but please take a quick survey on your expectations for the coming year:

2013 Business Forecast 10 Minute Survey

You can read some of my views on 2013 below. The short version is: Act on your beliefs. If you think the economy is sour, then adjust your business accordingly. If you believe it is robust, then take advantage of the opportunity. Conclusion? You can't control it; you can only respond to it.

This issue of AV Matters includes another installment of my Best Practices series on video. Business Development has been a huge topic with my clients this past year and I expect that it will be an even bigger one going forward.

For those of you that read this far, I have a small request. Please share this email and encourage folks to subscribe. You can share it on Facebook, post on Linkedin, or simply use the forward button and blast it to your company. My business is 99% referral and your word of mouth support is what makes it possible for me to do things like generate this newsletter, produce free videos, and give out a generous amount of pro bono advice. A new subscriber or two every now and then is all the motivation I need to keep this up.

 

Thanks for Reading,
   
Tom Stimson
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Thoughts On 2013
Plan More, Worry Less
Here are my thoughts on a few topics that might affect your business this year and one or two things you might want to do about it.
 
The Economy
When anyone tries to impose their opinions on others - as many politically and socially focused people do, I find that those persons have often lost sight of what is really happening around them. They find a source that says what they want to hear then stop exploring. The focus becomes the message, not the response. In business, that it a really unwise move. Take the so-called Fiscal Cliff that has occupied news for weeks and weeks. Regardless of your opinion of what the budget outcome should be for the US, something will happen and chances are you won't be happy with it. In other words, you will spend a lot of emotional energy on something you have no control over rather tan engineering your response. I am not going to suggest that you or anyone withhold their opinions on things that matter to them, but am going to suggest that you might want to run your business based on what will probably happen.
 
My opinion is that the economy is chugging along quite well. If you don't agree, that is fine. My point of this column is to suggest that you act on your beliefs instead of waiting for someone to prove you right or wrong. The reason I believe the economy is strong is that I do not under most circumstances watch the news on television. I rarely look at a newspaper either. If you have known me for very long, you will understand that this behavior is a 180 degree shift from years past when I read two papers a day, watched the news as often as I could, and kept up with multiple online news feeds. By avoiding the news (I monitor headlines in case there is something worth knowing about), I read or listen to stories I think that matter. What I have learned about the economy is that corporations have a lot of money waiting to be spent, profits are up (look at the stock market averages), and in spite of trepidation about the US fiscal cliff the mood is positive. In short, unless something extraordinary happens we should expect 2013 to be another great year. My faith in humans is that the idiots only get to run things for so long before the smart people find a solution.  

Good planners take into account the things that could happen, but it takes discipline to separate what you want to transpire from what will most likely occur. If you think the economy is going to tank, then you could make some good money betting your business that direction. If you think the economy is going to grow, then perhaps you would invest in marketing, business development, new products, or infrastructure. Maybe all of these? However, if you are wrong you could lose everything you have worked so hard for. Chances are you are like most folks and aren't sure enough either way to risk anything. There is a perfectly reasonable course of action to follow if you expect your business to go up or down 10%. 

Growth Plan
If you think you the economy will grow in 2013 and want to take advantage of all that business that the pessimists say isn't forthcoming, then take some risks. Hire well-networked Biz Dev persons, invest in money-saving infrastructure, raise prices, raise salaries, increase benefits, make an acquisition, increase operational capacity, move to that bigger building, and wait another year to take money out of the business for yourself. Now would be the time to take on some debt at super-low rates to fund growth

Shrink Plan
On the other hand, if you are sure that the US Congress (or the EU) will make the wrong choices and steer the economy into another recession, then you would be wise to act upon that prediction. Downsize seasonal staff, cut back on spending everywhere you can, slash prices to keep customers in your portfolio, cut marginal performers, and move available cash out of the business and into personal accounts with safe investment plans.

Sidelines Plan
Most folks will sit on the sidelines to watch the risk-takers and openly hope they fail. Many will kid themselves that this decision was a conscientious one, but for most it will simply be a non-choice. Do nothing and hope that "a rising tide will lift all boats." The problem with this position is that rising economic tides lift prepared companies faster and further. The sideline sitters grow and shrink with the changing economy and have little control over their lives (picture them bobbing in the waves). Still, this is an appealing position for many and if this is where you want to be, then you need to prepare for both a rise or fall in business. Hedging like this mitigates both losses and gains: 
  • Keep staffing levels low and only hire when the benefit is permanent. 
  • Accept lower margins to maintain revenue 
  • Make do for one more year on infrastructure needs
  • Take money out of the company, but keep it in liquid accounts in case you need to put it back in
  • Decrease benefits while giving small salary raises
Technology
2013 will be a year of refreshing innovation. Manufacturers of high technology products are not sitting on the sidelines. They are adding cutting-edge products and jockeying for market share. In the past two years we have seen a lot of mergers in manufacturing specifically because these companies know that economies are not forever and you have to move forward just ahead of the tide. We haven't seen this much new tech or innovation since 2002-07. For this reason, I think that smart companies should adopt as much new technology as they can in terms of products, processes, and infrastructure to take full advantage of recent developments. This will mean forcing your engineers, designers, technicians, salespersons, and administrative staff to get out of their comfort zones. But it also means you have something exciting to take to your clients and prospects. 

Speaking of new tech, it is time that you revisit The Cloud and see where this is really taking us. Not only do you need to understand its implications for your business, learn what it means to your customers. What are they going to do differently? In 2013, our society will embark on a new understanding of the architecture of information. 

While most of my readers are gearheads and focus on the boxes that contain technology, most innovation is in software. As for users, their software experience is the user interface. If you can control what the user sees, feels, and controls - then you will be extremely valuable to that customer. So much of how we present ourselves to the customer is controlled by software. Are we controlling that software to work for us or are we working for it?

People
I think 2013 will also be a year where lots of people change jobs. Why? Because they can. When economies improve, people move to better pay, benefits, opportunities, and locations. If you don't want your people to leave, then you might want to revisit your position on the economy. In general, salaries have not increased much over the past four years and with good reason. However, employees see that their companies are doing better and want to see a reward. If you are one of those businesses that has sat on the sideline for a number of years, some of your employees might be looking for something more exciting. And if you are in a chronically depressed region, there are plenty of places for them to move to that have better pay and a more positive outlook. 

What should you do for your employees in 2013? Take a look at your total compensation package: salary, bonuses, and benefits. It has become difficult to maintain the quality of benefits due to the rising cost of health care, but if you are paying any portion of the employee's cost then focus on that as the benefit. Handing out raises sounds like a it would be a real morale booster, but I recommend that you first evaluate what market rates are for all the positions you employ. I have seen too many companies hand out raises until they have key employees grossly overpaid for their jobs. Instead, of across the board raises, adjust those that have fallen behind the market and hand out merit bonuses. Remember that a bonus is a one-time expense and a raise is forever.

There is also an entire category of benefits that many often neglect to account for. Training, education, and certification are valuable to both the employer and the employee. You can also look at time off, computers, mobile phones, and trade show travel as measurable benefits. Adding a couple of vacation days as a one-time bonus can have a surprisingly positive effect. In short, be creative. Ask your employees what they would value most and give them some choices. 
 
Have the 2013 You Want
In conclusion, what I really hope to convey from all this is for you to have the 2013 you want. Set some reasonable and achievable goals, plan for the inevitable bumps along the way, and try to have a positive impact on those around you. If you do these three things, I trust that happiness and satisfaction aren't far behind. 
 
My Best to You and Yours in 2013.
 
Tom


Best Practices Series
Business Development
The First Step to Enterprise Sales Isn't a Salesperson

The most common problem I find in AV companies is not a lack of revenue. It's a lack of choices. When the selection of available business is sparse, every revenue opportunity becomes mission-critical. The solution for many managers is to add more salespersons: more hunters, more game. However, management has learned that this strategy often leads to the RFP (request for proposal) endless loop, where profits and self-esteem go to die. Therefore successful companies have changed their focus to the elusive Enterprise Sale with its promise of sole source contracts and endless projects. Unfortunately, most of the broader AV sales force are professional order-takers and are not likely to develop enterprise accounts. This is why Business Development has become the most important management issue in the AV Industry. 
 
The solution to increasing your pipeline with quality projects, potential enterprise customers, and higher-profit opportunities is to add a true Business Development program to your sales and marketing efforts. The trap is to confuse the role of the Biz Dev agent as a sales producer instead of serial networker that seeds your value proposition into targeted segments, verticals, and key clients. Unfortunately, most managers associate the process of business development with generating immediate revenue and expect an instant ROI. Instead, Biz Dev is more of an ongoing marketing investment whose returns are difficult to measure in the short term, but pay off handsomely in the long run.

If you want to grow your business, the first step is to understand how important Biz Dev really is and why it is something quite different from Sales. Please watch this short video where I explain the differences between Biz Dev and Sales.

Business Development
Business Development


Each Best Practices video will be added to my YouTube page and as inspiration permits, you may see additional video blogs from time to time. I hope you find the content helpful. -Tom




ClosingThoughts Closing Thoughts

Here's a few scribbles from the margins: 

Every once in a while I find a quote that really speaks to me. The perfect saying must have substance, but the originator should also add to the meaning:

 

"You don't want to be considered just the best. You want to be considered the only one who does what you do." -- Jerry Garcia 

 

Good and unique is a a great foundation for a Value Proposition and the best VP is so special that no one else can be a substitute. What have you done lately to become that rare?

 

 

About Thomas R. Stimson, MBA, CTS
Stimson Portrait
 

Tom Stimson has thrived for over twenty-five years in the Audiovisual and Live Events industries. As a Consultant, Tom helps companies define their goals and then design a plan that will take them there. For more information visit the website.