HOW TO STAY FOCUSED AND BUILD YOUR
BUSINESS
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Friends let’s examine some of these processes that you will use to give your
business the focus it needs to grow and succeed.
1. A marketing plan.If sales
are a part of your operation (and it seems that some form of selling is
always a big part of every company), then, you will need to have your sales
group focused on a marketing plan. Short term and longer-term analysis should
be a part of this planning and will likely contain an analysis of your
competition, market potential and sales projections. Be careful not to fall
into the trap of letting “the business take care of itself”, stay focused at
all times and be sure your managers are tuned into this market monitoring
regularly, nothing is more defeating to the general manager/owner than to be
told by a sales manager…I didn’t see that coming! YIKES!
2. Accounting procedures. If sales are important, then the need to stay focused on
receiving the proceeds from sales is equally important. Accounts payable,
expenses and accounts receivable need to have fixed procedures in place to
allow money to flow freely through the company coffers. Focusing on these
procedures at regular weekly and monthly meetings will put the accounting and
marketing groups on the same path. A rift between marketing and accounting is
a common bureaucratic occurrence; so don’t be surprised if one point you hear
from someone from sales state, “We make the money here, how come I have to
live by their rules?” Getting these two operations to stay focused on a
bottom line results oriented approach is a regular part of an owner’s job
description.
3. Human resources. If you have ever worked for a manager, who considered his
employees as expenses rather than assets, then you will be familiar with the
need for managers to stay focused on human resources within the company. A
manager who is fixated on staff reduction regardless of their accomplishments
will create an atmosphere of fear. Certainly, no one wants to be grossly
over-staffed, but a good owner/manager will focus on keeping adequate
employee base numbers, and ensure continuing training, safety programs and
top of the line employee benefits. It’s your campground, why not have “happy
campers?”
4. Selling your business. This does not mean selling in the true literal sense. It
means focusing on being sure your company image is one that is the envy of
your competitors and is known in the business world as a first class
operation. You can do this by having key managers attending industry
conferences. Be clear and tell them that their focus at these seminars is to
network, thoroughly gathering as much new information that they can. They
should also ‘sell’ other attendees on the importance and efficiency of their
company in the industry. Upon their return, have follow-up meetings with
these managers where they will report in detail on what they have learned.
Managers attending conventions and seminars should take opportunities to
enjoy themselves, nevertheless, they will be the “face” of your company, it’s
wise be sure that they focus on making them business meetings, and not all
“playtime.”
If planning, organizing, staffing,
direction and control are five major factors in managing a company, staying
focused throughout the process, is paramount!
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