5 Numbers Every Business Owner Must Know

Business owners - what are the 5 essential numbers to grow your business?  

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1. What’s the value of your time?  This number gives you perspective on how and where to apply your talents.  It helps prioritize your tasks.  Will this task make you money or avoid losing money - how much?  Without this this number you feel at odds constantly trying to do everything and failing to be productive.
2. When do you break-even?  Knowing when your revenues exceed the fixed and variable costs gives you confidence you make a profit for your efforts.  Without it you don’t know whether you’re winning or losing.  You don’t know the score.  You feel anxious and hesitant on strategy because you don’t know where you stand financially.
3. What’s the acquisition cost of your customers?  What are you spending in marketing, sales and customer experience to attract and retain them.  Are you receiving a return on investment?  Without this number you don’t have a basis to decide how and where to apply your resources.  You feel perplexed and must guess on marketing and sales strategies.
4. What is your customer lifetime value?  When you add up what your customer buys year-over-year plus their referrals, what value does it provide the business?  With this number you’ll appreciate your customers more.  Without this number you’ll miss apply your time with low quality customers vs focusing on retaining your loyal raving fans.
5. Finally, what is the value of your business?  What if you transitioned out of the business today, tomorrow or in 3 years what value do you need it to be?  What are the leveragable variables impacting the value?  How do you best show sustainable increasing discretionary cashflow?  Avoid feeling disappointed when this pinnacle event occurs.    

Knowing these 5 numbers is important.  Knowing the direction and rate of change is equally important over time.

If you’re uncertain about what your numbers are and their trends then let’s talk.  We’ll discuss how to calculate these numbers and how to move them in the right direction.  This is a complementary session and you're guaranteed to leave with at least a half dozen implementable ideas to improve these numbers.

Call me at ph:  972 709 6776 or eMail:  StephenMarino@ActionCOACH.com

Let’s get started...know these numbers and we'll grow your business!

What Clients Want to Feel...Before They Retain or Rehire You!

If you’re like most professional service advisors from accountants, architects, doctors, brokers, engineers, contractors, attorneys, coaches and consultants - you thrive when there’s sufficient client communication to ensure the work is done on time, spec and budget.  That gets you through the job.  What keeps your retained and rehired?.  

That answer depends on how the communication is conducted.  Statistics show that when the firm was not rehired and technical performance was not the issue it was because of the intangible things communicated.  How did the firm demonstrate they heard the client?  How did the firm sought to understand the client’s purpose?  And finally how did they appreciate the motives of the client?  

To place you in the best position to be retained and rehired, here’s an outline of a firm and client conversation that’s held periodically throughout the project.

What’s the client’s objective...?

• “When we initially choose to selected this ____________program, it was for _____________reason(s).   Is that still your primary reason?  Any changes?  What caused the change?”
• “How do you rate our progress on a scale of 1 to 10 high achieving your goals?  How so?  Tell me more?”
• “What outcome would make our discussion about our work together a great success today?”
• “What specifically do you want to accomplish near term, long term?”
• “What will be different as a result of working on this area?”
• “How can we make that goal measurable – so we know when we’ve achieved it?  What would success look like?”
• “By when do you want to have this done?”  “Are the resources available?”

Current Situation - Where does the client see where we are we starting from - real and perceived?

• “What is their confidence level are they at right now?”
• “How do they perceive progress?”
• “Are there others involved impacting the situation, and how?”
• “What’s been tried already? What difference did those actions make?”
• “Are there other factors important in this matter?”

What are our Options?

• “What other potential courses of action are there?”
• “Let’s shoot for a least five potential solution. What else could be done?”
• “If we had unlimited resources and knew we couldn’t fail, what would you do?”
• “What if this obstacle was removed? What would be done then?”
• “What could you do to overcome this obstacle what are you options?”
• “Who could help you?”
• “What other resources could you draw on to tackle this? Who else could ask for creative ideas?”
• “What have you seen others do that might work for you?”

Decision

• “Is there anything else that you need to know to make a decision about implementing the ____________________  program?”
• “How do you want to proceed?”
• “Are you ready to say, ‘yes!’ to greater vitality, or would you like to explore further?”
• “What is holding you back from making a decision?”
• “What step would you like to take out of this conversation to keep moving forward?”

Recommitment

• “Which option(s) do you want to pursue?”
• “Turn that into an action step: what will you do by when?”
• “What step could be taken this week that would move us toward your goal?”
• “You mentioned that you could do _____________. What will you commit to doing?”

Assuring Action

• “On a scale of one to ten, how likely is it that this step will get done in the time frame you’ve set?”
• “How could we alter that step to turn that ‘six’ into an ‘eight’?”
• “Are there any other obstacles we need to address to make sure this step gets done?”
• “How does this move you toward you achieving your potential?  Why/ Why not”

Having this conversation demonstrating you hear what’s important to your client, understand them and appreciate them, this gives you the best chances to be retained and rehired.

If you want to have a conversation on how to structure these types of conversations with your client, give ActionCOACH - Business Coaching a call at 972 709 6776 for a complimentary coaching session.  

The 10 Components of an Internal Succession Plan for Professional Service Firms

We're at the beginning of one of the largest ownership transfers as the baby-boom generation retires.  Here are 10 components of an internal succession for professional service firms such as accounting, consulting, legal, architecture, construction, engineering or coaching.

1.  Assess the Adequacy and Desires of People that will Replace Departing Partner(s)

2.  Determine the Partners Intentions with Respect to Succession

3.  Determine the Value of the Partner’s Equity

4.  Consider how all of the Retiring Partner’s Roles and Responsibilities are delegated 

5.  Factor how the Client and Staff Relationships are protected

6.  Have Succession Plan cover all possibilities of loss of partner

7.  Create a Economic Win/Win Proposition for both Parties - Departing Partners and Remaining Partners

8.  Strengthen the Support and Service Team

9.  Have a Contingency Plan for the Firm if terms for transition are adversely affected

10.  What are Options if Internal Succession Plan is not Viable?

If you find your firm at this pinnacle point i.e. within 4 or 5 years of a partners retirement then let's have a discussion on how to ensure you'll succeed.

eM:  StephenMarino@ActionCOACH.com ph:  972 709 6776