Tourism is a notoriously temperamental industry, with political circumstances causing unexpected cancellations or sending customers looking for alternatives. A tour guide approached me, asking for help with his revenue stream. I asked him for his definition of an ‘ideal customer’. The answer was too brief to be useful. In other words, my client had lost his ability to identify which part of the market he was targeting. A new focus helped redirect his marketing, and he is now too busy to meet me.
Selling hardware is never an easy game. The competition is often strong. The sales cycle can be laborious. And then there are numerous internal factors that are beyond your scope. This is typical of many sectors of commerce. My client often found themselves close to the finishing line, but never quite crossing it. What my client has learnt is to agree on specific terms early on in the selling cycle. These ensure that when the prospect is presented with a purchase deal, there are no more reasons to delay. As for my client, sales are growing from year to year.
Keep Fit Society is a local franchise of an American company. The CEO had little commercial experience, but was driven by a passion to expose his locality to this form of training and fitness. The business coaching covered key basic principles of opening up an enterprise; creating an initial budget, finding a loan on affordable terms, locating premises, confirming issues of insurance, and of course recruitment of clients. In addition, as many of these tasks did not come naturally to the CEO, Michael spent much effort working on the client’s emotional fitness. At the time of writing, the company is hosting its first annual event in conjunction with well-known local restaurants.
Light Us Up manufactures an energy product. Despite nearly twenty years experience, sales had dwindled to a minimum and the bank was threatening the owners. Debts to statutory authorities were building up. Michael initially concentrated on confirming the strengths of the CEO and on establishing the unique selling position of the company. Within a short period of time a marketing strategy was put into place. Within three months, the company became cash-flow positive. In addition to sales, the company was approached by leading competitors to act as an out-sourced production line. After nine months of mentoring, the monthly take home of the CEO had shot up at least five times.
Design House is a family business of architects. They provide a boutique service, specialising in high value projects. Although the partners have considerable experience, most of it was gained abroad. Neither did they understand the local business culture nor did they have the local contacts to get started. Michael’s remit included helping guide them through building an initial budget and cash flow projection. He also became instrumental in helping Design House form a marketing strategy, as they initially chased all vague opportunities. After nine months, the company had moved to permanent offices, had set up a website, and had established a working revenue base.
Applebaum is one of Israel’s leading artists, and many of his works can be found overseas. Locally, Applebaum had been increasingly frustrated with the demands of his prime distributor and gallery host. Up to that point in time, Applebaum had effectively been ‘going along’ with what had been asked of him. Michael was called in to help with the negotiations. It became imperative to establish at an early stage just what Appelbaum required from his associate and then to confirm that the specific service was achievable. The resulting new contract allowed both sides to live together, so that both of them would benefit financially at healthy levels.
PlastiCo manufactures and distributes quality plastic products for the packaging industry. The company has an established overseas network, which had repeatedly failed to deliver an increase in sales for several years. Michael was asked to travel and to meet with the team on their home territory in order to understand the precise factors that were holding up the creation of new export orders. The final report, which was delivered to the CEO and then approved by the board, led to a series of operational changes both locally and abroad. New back office personnel were employed. The quality of products available was raised. Supply lines were shortened.
Pizza House was an ambitious project by young adults to create a chain of pizza outlets in local neighbourhoods. The concept was to offer quality Italian food at affordable prices, which would also fit the genre of healthy nourishment. After the opening of the first branch, Michael was asked to create a business plan, which would focus on future development and allow the owner to understand what level of loans he could justify. Michael forced the owner to comprehend that his sales never fully matched original forecasts, thus challenging the client to reconsider his concept, as well as the risk level of the loan sought. The business was eventually closed with no losses.
The K.S. Group is a team of marketing managers with considerable experience in running sophisticated operations in different environments. Coming together for the first time, they were looking to export Israeli products abroad, creating independent sales networks. Despite a clear vision, the team was hindered by a cash flow that did not match the demands of the work flow. Michael was required to help the project directors realise where and when and why to concentrate the efforts. As the months progressed, K.S. was able to prepare itself for launch overseas.
Jason was a new immigrant to Israel. Although unfamiliar with local business culture, he wanted to “copy” his distribution business from North America. However, sales remained weak, despite the considerable long hours invested. Michael encouraged the owner to consider a new approach to his use of time and to review where his marketing was most effective. By the end of the coaching contract, the CEO was employing a team of three sales staff and a personal assistant. In parallel, he released a new website and had partnered up with an investor for his business.
Programmers Ltd offers a unique software for the medical industry. Dedicated to the European market, Programmers Ltd had steady sales, supported by a solid website, an experienced team and good promotional material. Unfortunately, new clientele dried up, impacting on staff levels and cash flow at the bank. Michael’s analysis and understanding of the corporation’s operations identified key weaknesses in the way customer relations were handled. Specifically, there were problems in the way potential clients were approached. By the end of the coaching over a period lasting nearly a year, a string of new clients had come on board and renewals of licenses were picking up strongly.
Burgers Rule is a restaurant, operated in partnership. The client, one of the owners, was looking for a career change. He wanted to utilise his skills and experience in finance and strategy, which his employment did not offer. Michael’s first task was to establish what the client truly wanted to do and why. He then encouraged the client to realise that his current position was close to what he wanted to be doing. In fact, he needed to realise that it was his partners who wanted to leave more than himself. Within two months, the client was able to offer his colleagues a buyout solution that would leave him in charge.
BeGood is a non-profit organisation that specializes in neighbourhood initiatives. Mainly supported by overseas donations, their funding began to dry up following the 2008 credit crisis. Initially, they managed to maintain their level of service by accumulating debt, which in turn caused their own credit crisis. Through meetings with Michael, the charity was able to reset its priorities to match the level of finance available, and to ensure that a new agenda was confirmed by the board of directors.