Protecting your business is hard. There’s going to be so many different things that’ll get in your way and try to break it down. You need to be that driving force that holds things together, and makes sure that everything is running smoothly as much as possible. But, like we said, there’s going to be that many hurdles that are going to get in your way, you’ll often feel like giving up. The last thing you want to do however is let it crash and burn. It is easy for small businesses in particular to give up at the first hurdle. But this article is here to give you some help and advice to know what to do when the going gets a little tough. If you know you’re going through a bad patch, or are just worried that one might be around the corner, relax and have a read of our article to calm your nerves and know which path to take.
Your Employees
We all have that one employee who is just exceptional as well, it might either be just a regular employee, or one of the managers you’ve hired. But you know that without them you wouldn’t be able to function as your business should do. This is where you need to protect them on a more personal level. There are insurance packages that protect both of you if they leave such as the key man insurance package. You might not have thought of it this way before, but your employees literally have the power to make or break your business. They are the wheel that keeps your business spinning, and let’s face it, you know you rely on them more than you care to admit. This is one they should be one of your most valued assets. Unfortunately, a lot of employees aren’t treated this way. They are treated as if the business could go on without them, but we all know this isn’t the case. It is so easy for boss’ to get a bit power hungry, and forget that they to used to be an employee. If you know you aren’t the best at treating your employees, try to make an effort to get to know them. Even this helps protect your business a little bit. Happy employees are hard working ones, you’d be daft not to push them to work their hardest through kindest and rewards.
Your Competition
Your competition is one of the main reasons your business can crash and burn, especially when you’re only a small business. Just their presence alone can halt you from becoming the successful business you need to be. But there are ways of successfully knocking them out of the park, and making sure you’re always the one on top. The first thing you should try and focus your efforts on is marketing. There are so many marketing techniques out there that you probably won’t have even thought of trying. Infact, if you’re a small business, the chances are high that you haven’t even considered marketing. But this is just one of the ways your competitors are going to be doing better than you. If you think about it, every brand you know about, or every product you see, you’re going to recognise through marketing. One of the easiest ways to market yourself when you’re only small is through social media. It’s quick, it’s cheap (mainly free) and it’ll reach the audience you need it to. Only when you have the money should you start investing in things such as TV or billboard advertising.
Your Products
This is going to be one of the hardest things to master, there’s always going to be something that you, and your customers want to see improved. But when you’re new, or even just a small business, it is hard to get the funds together to make your products the best they can be. The main thing you need to be able to do is start small. Focus on what needs changing to most. Is the quality poor, are the materials terrible, does it not last very long. These are all things to think about if you’re selling physical items. If you’re selling your services on the internet, for example if you do writing, you need to make sure you’re selling yourself in the best light. This all comes under marketing, but to prevent your actual service getting a bad reputation, you need to make sure you’re always producing the best product. This brings us back to actual physical things that you sell. You should always be looking to take on feedback to make sure your business is a cut above the others. If the material you’re using is poor, you might benefit from having something that’s a little more expensive, and upping the price on the product you’re selling itself to cover the costs.
Your Technique
Every business should have a sales technique, if not, you’re bound to crash to the ground before you know it. There’s so much that a good sales technique can do for you. You need to make sure it’s customer orientated if you want to be successful. Customers have the ability to drag your business down, especially if they’re giving your bad reviews. When interacting with customers to make a sale, make sure you’re always being polite and always trying to give them what they want to an extent. Try not to be too aggressive with your technique however. The last thing people want is a product or service being forced upon them. Just be genuine and try to make as many sales as you can through just conversation and customer interaction. If your company involves making sales over the phone, you definitely need to tone your technique right to the low end of the scale. It’s so easy for people just to slam the phone down as soon as they realise it isn’t someone they know. Find a way to start a conversation that’s going to keep as many people on the phone as possible.
