There are two significant vacuums that drain the greatest amount of money from a business, and both revolve around the concept of SYSTEMS.
Before you start congratulating yourself for having a system in place, realize that greater than 90% of systems are poorly structured, and most issues are realized during the end-user’s experience. Whether you operate a lemonade stand or a Fortune 500 corporation, most business owners focus on their perspective of THEIR system. In other words, they are less concerned about the customer’s perspective (or client…or patient) than they are their own.
EXAMPLE:
I am working with a terrific company called WCB.
WCB has given me permission to discuss their issues in exchange for a little extra “Dr. Marc Time.” WCB is a company that offers personal training, nutrition, cosmetic enhancement (non-surgical), and physical restoration – all under one roof.
WCB’s staff had each worked with consultants (i.e. a practice management consultant) – each of whom claimed to have THE system that would bring each of these individuals riches beyond riches. Most of these practice management companies made the huge error of devaluing services by means of reducing barriers. In other words, they recommended that their clients offer freebies (i.e. a free evaluation) as a means of creating an unobstructed path to a relationship. This is “poverty mentality” thinking that has no place in ANY economy.
So what we had on our hands with WCB was each practitioner with his/her own system (most of which were severely flawed), AND no optimized integrated system that maximized revenue while simultaneously creating an experience for the customer, client, or patient that was second to none.
Here’s how I approached the situation:
I told my client that they should allow each of the practitioner’s consultants a stab at presenting a comprehensive system that would maximize revenue AND create a great end-user experience. If any one of those consulting companies could come up with something better than what was going to be presented by my company, I (my company) would pay their entire consultant’s fee for the new system and its implementation. There was, however, one stipulation: Regardless of who received the contract, I was to be given the plans submitted by the “competition” (LOL) for review. That sort of thing makes great “toilet” reading.
About a month and a half went by, and I heard nothing from WCB. I received a call on a Tuesday in August – asking me to come in and present the outline of my recommendation. IMMEDIATELY after presenting my recommendation, I was given the contract. When I reviewed what had been submitted, I almost laughed myself into hysteria. The “competition’s” recommendations were terrible!
HERE IS WHAT YOU MUST UNDERSTAND:
If you are someone who honestly – honestly – honestly does not really know how to build a business (never mind market a business), then anything put before you will look like gold. Additionally, when a business owner moves from consultant to consultant, they perceive each new “system” as being the new diamond standard – when in reality, what they are doing is moving from eating 20 turds a week down to 18 turds a week, and now 16 turds a week. I guess eating 16 turds a week is BETTER than 20, but at the end of the day, you’re still eating???
To evaluate a system, you must look at it from all directions. You must ask yourself whether or not the system is sustainable. The concept of sustainability is foreign to many business owners and marketers, and even if the concept were understood, the structure behind the concept is so foreign that most business owners, marketers, sales professionals, etc., dismiss the concept so that they don’t have to deal with it.
As a business owner, you have every right to maximize your revenue and profits – just as long as you are delivering results. In coming months, I am going to present cases in which businesses are attempting to deceive their customers by taking their money and delivering lies. It is my hope that the many business owners who visit this blog will learn a lesson on what not to do. It is also my hope that many prospective customers also read the upcoming blog posts so that they are forewarned.
As a business owner, you SHOULD NOT be congratulating yourself on your success if your success is inconsistent. Right then and there, you should know that you have a fractured strategy. In many cases, the CAUSE of the fracture is the business owner (yep – often a headspace issue). REMEMBER: A weak person always creates a weaker business. This is why I often have to simultaneously fix the person and fix the business. It’s not always an easy process, but the rewards on the other end are fantastic!
Have A GREAT Day!
…Dr. Marc