Parramatta
When – Wednesday’s at 7:30am
Where – Cafe @ 130 George St, Parramatta
Who – Cameron McKay 0404 246 644
Members
Accountant
Marketing / Event Management
Personal Trainer
Recruitment Consultant
Marble Importer / Wholesaler
Sales & Marketing Coordinator
Mortgage Broker
Parramatta 26th Oct
We discussed authentic leadership. We agreed that most of the great authentic leaders did not set out to lead, they were trying to change something, something important, and people chose follow them. Leaders like Mandela, Martin Luther King, Gandhi and Jobs.
We also agreed that there was a void of authentic leaders in Australian politics.
Authentic means more than just that we believe what they say, it is that we believe that they believe what they say. They also live that belief and rarely get flustered or moved off the point. And they are rare.
So when I say ‘authentic leader’ who jumps to mind?
Parramatta 12th October
What else can we sell to the people who already like and trust us enough to buy from us?
Good meeting this morning at the office of White Collar Blue. When we looked at how many products/services we had available to sell to our clients, the list ranged from 3 to 30 and most had at least 10.
However when we looked at how many products we actually sold our clients the range was significantly lower, 1.1 to 2. A far cry from what we have available.
Yet most of the businesses were focused on new client acquisition? They are not alone, most businesses focus on the new instead of the old, in fact most remunerations packages reward getting new clients more than up-selling existing ones.
Parramatta 28/09
Great day – my eldest’s birthday, Happy Birthday Taj.
We had a lively discussion (once we got started) talking about the one thing we would change in our business today. Some had historical things like “I wish I had done X two years ago” and some had current items such as “I would employ a staff member”.
If it is historical then what have you changed in your business to not reproduce that same frustration or behaviour? If you think of the one thing that you would change the question is where in your order or priorities does that one thing sit?
We then stretched the question to what is the one thing you need to do today (or this week) to move your business forward?
This is a method of daily todo setting for business owners. Most of us could write at least 50 things on a todo list for tomorrow. The chance for the important things to get pushed back is high. The idea of this exercise is to write your list the night before and ask the above question. Once you have identified the one thing that you should do to move your business forward – make sure that it gets done.
Imagine what your business would look like if everyday, or even 2-3 times a week, you did something that actually moved your business forward – where would you be now?
Parramatta 21st Sept
There was some debate as to whether great sales people are born or made. The group was split down the middle. For what it is worth studies have shown that apart from physical ability, we are not born with any specific disposition and that our personality traits are made. This ‘making’ process starts young so it might not be something that is made in the workplace but instead in the home. A trait of good salespeople is that they don’t let a set back stop them, this might come from high levels of encouragement at home for example.
What was agreed was that we would hire a salesperson based on attitude over knowledge of our area. It was preferable to have someone who ‘could sell” over an expert in our specific area.
Converge Parramatta 14 Sept
Exit strategies and risk management were the agenda today. We had a healthy discussion with some real life examples. Risk management is not about eliminating all risk but it is about identifying the key material risks and either transferring them, working to reduce them or accepting them and planning a response.
In terms of our exit strategies they were diverse and in many cases not a focus. Business owners should have an idea of how they get out of their businesses when the time comes. Your exit strategy will direct many if the actions and decisions you make today in your business.
Many business owners leave it until they want to exit and then realise that either they can’t, or they do for far less money and adverse conditions. Don’t let that be you.
