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Which Is Better: Repeat Business Or New Customers? - Part 2 Of 2 Recently we asked which was more important: new customer growth or repeat business? The answer depends on your business goals. If you want fast-paced quantum growth, you should concentrate energy on adding new customers. But if your goals are more incremental - if you envision continual year over year growth in the 10 to 20 percent range - booking repeat customer revenue is far easier than adding new customers. (Of course, don't lose sight of new customer acquisition; d... Which Is Better: Repeat Business Or New Customers? - Part 1 Of 2 Every management authority on the circuit says that loyal customers and their repeat purchases are the cornerstone of your long-term successful business. The reason is obvious: it is less costly to get your existing customers to buy more than it is to find new ones. The lower cost of sale leads gives you higher operating margins, which you can then invest in other business building activities, and so it goes. Since I'm bringing this up at all, you've got to ask yourself, ... Whats Valuable About Having Values? Let's talk about values... Yours. What kind? Family values, personal values, corporate values. So what are values - and why are they important to creating breakthroughs? Values are things we strive to gain or keep. They are the expression of what is important to us. Values can be concrete things like money, gourmet food, and fast motorcycles, or they can be abstract things like contribution, challenge, or adventure. Values, along with our beliefs about w... What Stops You? Have you ever had a terrific idea which you didn't act on? Of course you have. I don't mean anything fancy either. Nothing earth-shattering. Just a plain old-fashioned good idea which would have made you more money. But you didn't get moving on it. Oh well. I have a friend I'll call James. James is an independent management consultant and a deep, creative thinker. I have great respect for his abilities to understand his clients and develop unique solutions for them. But... What One Thing? A few weeks ago I asked my readers what the most important issue was in their business. Hundreds responded with a variety of answers, but one of the most common was, "How do I get everything that needs doing done?" Happily, I have an answer for this question, but like many things in life, it carries both good news and bad news. The good news is, if you are one of those fortunate few with access to unlimited resources, you can get everything done. But that's really the... What Not To Do And How Not To Do It How can you get more done? Can you really do more than you already do? Is there still room left on your plate for even one more thing? The truth is I don't know anyone (successful) who has too little to do. Not one of my many clients--nor any of my friends, acquaintances, or people I meet on planes--none of them has ever said they have too little to do. Doing more to get more done is simply not an option. The answer to doing more is doing less. Less? Do le... Unreasonable Requests "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man." -- George Bernard Shaw, Maxims for Revolutionists It is probably the number two task of leadership -- asking. You ask people to do things, and when they do -- well, stuff happens. But what really extends your ability to make big things happen is asking for things that are "unreasonable." Wha... Thinking About Thinking - Part 2 Of 2 Like many of my clients, I am always looking for ways to speed things up - to produce more results with the same or even fewer resources. We probably agree on this. The key is certainly not about working harder; it may not even be about working smarter. But there are definitely ideas which work, and those ideas need to be uncovered. Often you can find them through analytical thinking. In my last article I discussed this: a process of asking deliberate questions, and in a disc... Thinking About Thinking - Part 1of 2 How much time do you spend just thinking? Take a guess - how much during any given day, week or month? I'm don't mean the kind of thinking you do while driving in your car, commuting on the train, during your morning run, or even in the shower. I'm referring to the kind of thinking you do ensconced in your office, or your den, or perhaps your garden. You are not reading a book or a magazine, nor watching TV, nor listening to music. You are simply thinking. How much time d... Thinking About More Business What does an old Russian joke have to do with getting new business? Did you increase your business in the past 12 months? Don't discriminate between more new clients or old clients spending more money -- count the increase either way. If you didn't, you really should be asking yourself why not. Yes, I know -- it all started with the Internet implosion. Then came terrorist attacks. Next, the global recession. And after that, a war that threatened to destabilize the worl... The Secrets Of Strategy - Part 2 Of 2 Of course you've heard that when you do what you've always done, you'll likely get what you've always got. In this case that means playing the tactical game: coming up with acceptable--or worse--comfortable options and executing them as time permits. Likely, what you'll get is business as usual, and things will be... well, they'll be fine. But "fine" may not be what you're after, and you are probably reading a series called "How to Create Strategies That Work" so you can d... The Secrets Of Strategy - Part 1 Of 2 A step-by-step guide to creating a growth strategy based on your current situation and future possibilities. I'll bet you think you already have a strategy. And well you may, but strategy as a concept is just like love: much used and little understood. Many businesses (and that includes small entrepreneurs, large corporations, non-profits, community organizations, governments, NGOs...the works) neither know what strategy really is, nor how to get one. And even if ... Ten Entrepreneurial Mistakes It's hard to avoid certain mistakes, especially when you face a situation for the first time. In fact, many of the following mistakes are hard to avoid even if you're an old hand. Of course, these are not the only mistakes CEOs make, but they sure are common enough. Take the following self assessment: give yourself ten points for each of these entrepreneurial blunders you are in the process of making. Deduct five points for those you have narrowly avoided. Your score, of cour... Strategic Philanthropy Strategic philanthropy is a unique and powerful way to combine your company's marketing goals with a your desire to increase the well-being of mankind. We call it strategic philanthropy. Two of the more popular names are cause -related marketing or community partnering. No matter what you call it, strategic philanthropy is a positioning that connects your company with a not-for-profit organization or cause. In this way, while you are being helpful and working for the commo... Seven Keys To Get Out Of A Rut Rut -- a routine procedure, situation, or way of life that has become uninteresting and tiresome... And not surprisingly, unprofitable. They say a rut is a shallow grave with two open ends. The good news (good news?!) is that the ends ARE still open, which means if you act fast, you just might out of it. How do we get into these ruts anyway? Who would voluntarily lie down in that grave, shallow or otherwise? Dr. Edward Debono suggests that thoughts are pathways literall... New Year's Planning - Critical Success Factors Whatever time of the year it is, you have probably set a working direction for the rest of the year, including clear-cut objectives. Your first-iteration plan to reach them should be in place. This now (whatever time it is - if you are thinking about it) seems like an ideal time to rethink the whole thing, doesn't it? In our sped-up 21st century world, plans are subject to change just as soon as - or perhaps even before - they are written. If you haven't already done so, n... Marketing Brain Trust Rest assured that no matter how smart you are, you do not know everything about marketing. You don't even know anything about marketing your product! You can't figure everything out yourself, or see all the angles, or provide every bit of critical thinking. The solution? Create a marketing brain trust. Use the mastermind principle which says more brainpower brought to bear on an issue means more ideas and greater insight. Gather together a mixed bag of thoughtful, intel... How To Delegate: One Key Step Towards Leadership You've made an unusual discovery - there's not enough time left at the end of the day. The corollary, of course, is your list of important things to do never gets smaller. In any company, the CEO's to-do list has the potential to grow infinitely. What's a senior executive to do? This is not simply a personal problem. Your company's future depends on what you do next. As you drive your organization beyond its current plateau, you must change the way you relate to your wo... Higher Prices Lead To Higher Profits - Part 2 Of 2 In the first part of this series we looked at the effect prices have on profits. A change to the upside can have a wonderful effect on profits while reckless discounting and careless price reductions will surely have a disastrous one. If you don't fully understand the implications, or haven't read Part 1, go back and do so now. (http://www.paullemberg.com/higher-part1.html) By now you may be asking yourself, "What should my prices be?" Before you go start changing pric... Higher Prices Lead To Higher Profits - Part 1 Of 2 I know at first glance this sounds obvious, but it may be worth it for you to think about your prices. At least just for a moment. How did you decide on your current pricing? Did you conduct market research to understand what prospects would pay? Or did you compare yourself to your competitors and base your price on that? Or was it a crapshoot, and random shot in the dark? These are the ways most people do it, and they are all wrong. Because the price you set for your p... Customer Advisory Boards Customer Advisory Boards are a great source of information about your market and your business. Their advice is more valuable than any management consultant's. They provide real world counsel on what you are doing right, what you are doing wrong, and most important -how to stay competitive. After all, they're the customer. They're the one's who buy your stuff. Here's how to use your Customer Advisory Board for best results. 1. Make it win-win. As much as they might like ... 10 Questions To Consider When Growing Your Business Here's a provocation for the coming year, decade, century or millennium. By now, you've set a working direction for the year, established clear-cut objectives. Your first-iteration plan to reach them should be in place. This now seems like an ideal time to rethink the whole thing, doesn't it? After all, one of the effects of internet time is that plans are subject to change just as soon as - or perhaps even before - they are written. Along these lines of thinking, perha...