December 2014 - Vol 9, Issue 12
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Happiest of Holidays to You All
I know most of you have never hired a Business Consultant before so what I actually do to make a living is probably a bit of a mystery. However, it doesn't take much to figure out how I think and what I stand for. You only have to read some recent articles, watch a video, or attend a presentation to know that I view growth and profit as a choice. You decide either for or against, make a plan, and follow-through. Simple right?

Probably not so much...but that is where the consulting part comes in. I have worked directly with almost two hundred companies and indirectly with thousands more through my teaching, writing, and informal advice. My career is a classroom where I share my knowledge while I learn from my contacts within the industry. Every year my clients get a bit smarter, so I have to keep learning..

The best way to describe what I do is in this month's Best Practices column on Intentional Results. I help my clients understand their goals, their resources, and their potential and provide them practical approaches and insights to help them achieve better results.

A client once told me his goal for the company was 20% net profit. I asked how he would get there and he said he didn't know. "Why don't you set your budget to produce 20% net profit?" I asked. His reply was, "I do that every year but then things change so I have to change the budget."

"Perhaps you need to leave the profit in and change something else?"

I hope you have enjoyed another year of AV Matters. 2015 will mark the beginning of Volume 10 and with your support, we will continue to expand our readership and elevate the conversation about the business of AV.

Speaking of growth, it's time for our annual Forecast Survey Results. How is 2014 wrapping up and what does 2015 look like?  

 

The Stimson Group Business Forecast Survey can help you prepare for what's ahead. It's a free download when you register at AV-Matters.com  Download the Report  

 

Traditional marketing techniques attempt to highlight a company's differentiation, which for many of us

quickly devolves into saying, "We have the best people, best technology, and really care about what we do." Unfortunately, this self-centered approach just makes everyone look more alike.  How can you set yourself apart from the competition? Watch the VIDEO ...�

 

You Asked for More Sales Training  

Stimson Group is hosting a six-part webinar series on Sales and Marketing. Part Three is on Responding to RFPs and airs this Friday, Dec 12 at 2pm EST/ 1pm CST. 

If you have missed previous webinars, then just check out the archives at AV-Matters.com. Click on the link, create an AV-Matters Member login, and off you go. Members get access to exclusive content like archived webinars and free episodes of Around the Table with Tom Stimson

Thanks for Reading!

Tom

214-553-7077 direct

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InfoComm LIVE






SAVE THE DATE
I hope you will join me at InfoComm LIVE February 25-26 in San Diego. This has become the go-to event for owners and managers in the Live Events space.

You can register now and make the conference fees part of this year's budget! When you sign up, let them know I sent you by using the Promo Code: EXCCR104

 

WEBINAR SERIES: SALES & MARKETING
Don't Be A Commodity
Dealing with RFPs

   

Join us for a Webinar on Friday December 12, 2014 at 2:00 PM EDT/1:00 PM CDT

 

What You Will Learn:

  • The Right Way to Qualify Prospects
  • How to turn a warm lead into a Client in one easy step
  • How to gain leverage in a "Bidding" situation
  • Tailor your response to the four RFP Types

 

Register now!    

 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

 

Only REGISTRANTS of AV Matters website will receive access to the video archive, the handout, and the White Paper on this topic. Create your LOGIN now.

 

Learn More about this and other upcoming webinars here. 

 

bestpracticesBest Practices Blog
 
 
Best Practices Sponsor

If you believe your company can and should grow, what are you doing about it? Should your profits increase too? Where's the action plan for that? If you do nothing, something will still happen. If you do something, maybe you can better ensure the results you want.

 

As we enter 2015 the economy in the US is booming. You may disagree and that is fine, but the point of my statement is that I have chosen what I believe. I happen to feel my opinions are based on quantifiable data and qualifiable observation, but then you probably feel that your conclusions are equally vetted. At any rate, I want my share of this growth. No wait, I want more than my share.

  

I want Intentional Success, not the kind that just happens.
 
In late 2012 I realized that like many of my clients, I had come to rely on accidental business. The phone rang, I answered. I filled my calendar and took far too many small jobs that involved travel. I had a record year, but I was working harder and harder for less money. I needed to change how I did business. I engaged my marketing company to talk with my clients so I could better understand my value proposition. What I learned was that I was focused on the wrong things. Clients wanted more of a continuous engagement instead of short-term projects.  Pay-as-you-go projects built up a great list of past clients, but I needed ongoing business. As a result I became more thoughtful about my growth strategy, retooled my products, increased my marketing spend, and raised my fees. 

Then I watched my pipeline shrivel up.

 

We've all retooled at one time or another. Sticking to it is the hard part. I funded marketing from my line of credit, turned down engagements that didn't fit my new business plan, and kept refining my story till I got it right. It took a few months then things started to click. In 2014 I have grown 34% and I am 13% ahead of that busy 2012 with a lot less pain. In fact, I expect to grow another 35% in 2015. Why? Because I will continue to follow the plan in spite of missteps, in spite of TV news, in spite of what my competition does. My business may be different from yours, but my challenges are pretty much the same: My boss can be an idiot sometimes, but that doesn't mean I can't overcome my own shortcomings with insight, analysis, and planning.Intentional Growth 300dpi 

 

Intentional Results aren't simply borne out of perseverance, though being stubborn does help. Getting what you want comes from planning. For companies this means having a business plan with goals, vision, budgets, and timelines. It means setting aside the sacred cows while you consider new ideas and opportunities. But most of all Intentional Results come from not compromising the goal. Work the plan. Refine. Work it some more.

 

Growth is always achievable if you are willing to do whatever it takes, but most of us hesitate is when it comes time to spend money. You need to hire a new salesperson, re-do the website, or exhibit at a trade show in order to grow. So you try to justify the expense by connecting it directly to revenue. I call this straight line thinking. "If I spend this, I will achieve this revenue." Unfortunately, strategic spending rarely has a straight line return. In fact, results are pretty squiggly. The salesperson you hired yesterday connects with a major prospect that buys nothing for three years. The new website impresses everyone, but you cannot point to a single piece of business that you won because of it. You only get three good leads at the trade show, but five hundred people swiped their badge. Things you do today may make a huge impact a few years down the road.

 

The cumulative effect of ongoing commitment drives long-term results.

 

Intentional Profit is another common theme in my consulting practice. If we can develop a plan to grow revenue through intentional effort, then why not plan for profit? I work with a lot of companies on their budgets, but one in particular stands out as I think about intentional profit. This owner had recently hired a General Manager to take on the day to day duties of his company. Wisely, we had developed a fiscal budget for the new GM to work towards. Like most budgets, things did not line up well starting the first month. Revenue was below expectations and therefore profit suffered. After two quarters of not meeting expectations, we had a serious problem on our hands. I was called back in to help, and I only had one question, "Did you adjust the budget?"

 

The GM was happy to quickly reduce the revenue target, cut the strategic growth spending, and reduce profit expectations, but I wasn't. I looked at the owner and recommended that he not change his profit goals by one penny. Let's base the budget on the profit you want to make and adjust everything else. Then I looked at the GM, "Given that we have to produce this much profit, how are we going to do that?"

 

The result was that we made up a lot of lost ground, but it took a lot of commitment to do it. Marketing and news salesperson budget stayed in. Prices were raised and minimum margins were enforced. Some business was lost, but the jobs that they won made up for more than the difference. Important operational changes were made too - because they HAD to be made to reduce costs. The profit target was not going to be compromised. The entire company needed to contribute to the goal. There was money for the things they needed, but not necessarily for all the "wants."

 

Looking back at the end of the year, I asked the GM what he had learned from the experience. He said, "A budget without a plan is a wish. We should have planned on being profitable no matter what and then we would have made adjustments the very first month instead of six months into the year."

 

You get the results you plan for.

 

 

Tom Stimson, MBA, CTS, is president of Stimson Group LLC, a Dallas-based management consulting firm specializing in strategy, process improvement, and market research for the Audiovisual Industry. Tom is a Past-President of InfoComm International and a current member of InfoComm's Adjunct Faculty.
 

 

Closing Thoughts

Here's a few scribbles from the margins:

I hear a lot of comments from owners about how their business has been adversely affected by competitors that price unfairly, but I never hear anyone say, "We kicked everyone's butt by lowballing every job."

See you next month, - Tom   

Who's Tom Anyway?
About Thomas R. Stimson, MBA, CTS

Tom Stimson consults with organizations to improve their performance through strategic planning, process improvement, and team development. The Stimson Group provides coaching and tools to companies in the Audiovisual Industry that enable them to define and reach their strategic goals.

Whether you work in the Live Events or the Systems' Integration segments, or serve those companies as a manufacturer or distributor - The Stimson Group provides unparalleled expertise, industry insight, and market research that drive operational efficiencies and increase profitability. 

For more information visit the website.