SCALEYOURBUSINESS OWNYOUR MARKETSPACE
TableOfContents 01 EVALUATEANDPLAN 02 GETTHEFUND 03 ACTUALIZETHESALES 04 DEPLOYTECHNOLOGY 05 06 STAFFOROUTSOURCE DOMINATINGYOURMARKETSPACE
Whenwesayscalability,werefertothecapacityofyourbusinesstogrowandthecapabilityofyourstrategies, policiesandprocessestosustainthisgrowth.Thequestionstoaskare;doesthebusinesshaveagrowth capacity?Doyourteams,processesandassetshavethecapabilitytoaccommodatesuchgrowth?
INTRODUCTION
Whataretheeffectsofnothavingascalingplan?The rstisconfusion.Orderswouldbegintogetmixedupand youwouldrealizethatyouareshortstaffed Therewouldbeproblemswithcommunicationandyourrateof productionorservicedeliverywouldnotbeabletomatchorderingcapacityofyourevergrowingcustomer base,especiallyifyouhavegottentheotherthingsfrompreviouschapterrightandyouhaveafantasticproduct orservice.Alltheseproblemswouldaccumulatetomeanonething,unhappycustomers.Mostmanualor slightlyautomatedprocessesthatworkedwellduringyourinitialstartupstages,whenthebusinesswasstill reallysmall,wouldnolongerserveyou.Youwouldnoticethattheseprocessesarenotmovingfastenoughtobe abletomeetdemandAsthemanagerandbusinessowner,youwould ndoutthatyouareconstantlybusywith figuringoutwaystomeetdemandandplacatecustomer,ratherthanfocusonimprovementprocessesAllthese wouldstressyouasthebusinessowner.
Whatifyoualreadyhaveanimprovementprocess planed?Thisispartofbusinessscaling.Whenyou scaleabusiness,youcreatetheplatformforenabling, supportingandsustaininggrowthanddevelopment Yougivethebusinesstheabilitytogrowunhindered orwithoutimpediment.Doingthisrequiresyoutodo lotsofplanning,spendingsomefundandequipping thebusinesswiththerequiredsetofcosteffective processes,staff,partners,systemsandtechnology.
Mostpeoplethinkofbusinessandstartthinkingaboutselling Yes,abusinesswantstoselltogenerateenough revenuetoensurepro tability,andhence,thesustainabilityofthebusinessButthesustainabilityofabusiness transcendswaybeyondjustmerelyselling.Yes,youmaybesellingextensivelyandgaininglotsofcustomers, butthereisaproblemthatyouwouldsoonbefacedwith;dealingwithdeliveringtheneedsofallthesenew customers.Thisiswherescalabilitycomesin.
Now, let us discuss the important steps you can executetoscaleyourbusiness;
SCALEYOURBUSINESS
existence of competition, the market dynamism and government policies. The sales forecast shouldtakeasadecisivefactor,thesizeofnewcustomers,theamountofnewordersandthe expectedrevenuefortheseincreases.Next,createaspreadsheetthatprojectstheincrements monthly.
EVALUATEANDPLAN
SCALEYOURBUSINESS
The rst thing to do is to evaluate your business.Takeacriticallookatyourbusiness to be sure you are ready for growth Know where your business stands, it helps you to knowwhatneededtobedonedifferently. AcriticalpartofgrowthisincreasedsalesThis is why you must make a strategy on the methods you intend to deploy to increase sales
Thenextthingistoassumethatyour salestripledordoubledovera shorttimeandevaluateagain.Doyouhave thestaffandresourcestotakecareofnew orders,withoutstressingyourselfandothers too much? When you evaluate, don’t overestimatethebusinesscapabilityormake anelaborateforecastasthismaymakeyouget overstaffedandprocuremoreresourcesthan needed. Agoodplanstartswithadetailed,informed and realistic sales growth forecast that carefullyconsiderallfactorssuchasthe Haveitinmindthatyourdegreeofprecisionwould determinehowrealisticthesalesgenerationplanyou woulddeploywouldbe.Inthesamevein,createan expense forecast, that is, project the costs the businesswouldpayoutoverthisperiod,alsobroken down into monthly forecast The expense forecast shouldbedeterminedbythetechnologyyouintend toadd,thenumberofnewstaffandtheirearnings, additionalinfrastructureandprocessesforhandling theforecastedneworders
However,thisisaprobableoption Amorefeasibleapproachwouldbetolistpotentialbanksfunding tohelpspeedupyourbusiness Anexampleofsuchisabusinessloan However,conductthoroughresearchto determinethebankwiththebestinterestratetochooseinsecuringtheseloans Knowandmuchyouwould needandapplyforthisamountonly.
Now,criticallyexamineyourcurrentpro tandlossaccountandseehowtheseincrementswouldimpactthe itemstherein.Certainly,yourexpenseswouldgoup,but‘where’and‘how’becomesyourprimaryconcern.Itis wise,therefore,tocreateaseparatespreadsheetforexpensesthatwouldbeneededtoactualizeyoursales forecast. Thisplanningrequiresagreatdealofthinkingandresearchingbeforeyoucandeveloprealisticcostestimates. However, if properly done, it would help your business to grow and you would be prepared for most eventualities
Scalingabusinessrequiresspendingandyoucannotspendwhatyoudon’thave.Whenscalingupabusiness, thereiseverypossibilitythatyouwouldneedtohirenewpeopletoyourstaffsize,upgradeoraddtoyour equipmentandfacilities,createnewprocessline(especiallyareportingsystemformeasuringandmanaging results)anddeploynewtechnologyorupdatetheexistingones Allthesewouldcostyoumoney,butwhere wouldyougetthesefunds?Forme,Istronglyadvisebootstraps.However,bootstrappingisslowandittakesa relativelylongtimetogrowabusinessusingbootstrappingalone.Takingpartinasmallbusinessgrantcontest mayalso.Youcanresearchthisandparticipatesimplybyhavingafantasticbusinessstorytotellaboutyour business
GETTHEFUND
SCALEYOURBUSINESS
•LEADS:Doyouhaveenoughlead owtogeneratemoreleadinordertoincreaseyourpotentialclientbase andhence,yournumberofcustomers Ifyoudonothavethisoryoufeelthesystemongroundisnotstrong enoughtoensuremoreleadin ow,youmightwanttoincreaseyourPRandbringyourbusinessouttothe surfacesomemore.Makingyourcustomeryourbrandambassadorcanalsohelp,asacustomerwhofeels positiveaboutyourbusinessislikelytotellothersaboutyourbusiness.Howdoyouthis?Byprovidingtop qualityservicesandproductsthatgiveyourcustomersmaximalutilityandmakethemfeelcaredabout
•ENOUGHSALESREP:Oncetheleadgenerationandmanagementareensured,nextistocheckifyouhave thesalesforcetofollowthroughwiththeleadsandclosethemintoactualsales Thisisasimportantasevery otheraspectbecausethisiswhatmakestheactualsaleshappen
ACTUALIZETHESALES
•BILLINGSYSTEM:Oncetheordersareattendedto, thenextthingisbillingforsuchproductorservice Doesyourbusinesshaveanappropriateandeffective billingsystem?Isthereareceivablefunctioninplace tofollowupwithbillinginordertomakesurethat youcollectallinvoices?Allthesearewhatyoumust ascertaintoensurethatsalesaresecurelysecured.
SCALEYOURBUSINESS
•LEADTRACKING&MANAGEMENT:Youmustamarketingandsalessystemsthatwouldnotonlyhelpyou tologleadsbutalsoallowsyoutoshowtheprogressyouhavemadewiththem;asystemthathelpsyouto managetheprocessfromleadidentificationtotheconversionofsuchleadtocustomers.
•ORDERMANAGEMENT: Withaneffectivesales team,theorderswouldsoonstartpouringin.Now, you must check to ensure that you have a robust system for managing the sales orders You must ensure that each customer gets exactly what was orderedandatthetimepromisedtoo.
Whileevaluatingandplanning,youwouldmakeanassumptionthatyouwouldsellmore Now,youneedto worktowardssecuringthosesales.Buthowwouldknowifyouhavethesalesprocessandstructuretohelpyou generateincreasedsales?Itissimple.Justevaluateyoursalesstructureholisticallytodetermineifyouhavethe following:
StafforOutsource DEPLOYTECHNOLOGY
SCALEYOURBUSINESS
Scalingbusinesscanbealoteasierandevencheaperwhenyoumakeuseoftechnology.Technologyhelpsto amplifyeffortandthus,youcanupscalewithlesslabor,withawiseinvestmentintechnology.Automationof someofyourprocesswouldhelpyoutorunatreducedcostandmakesyourworkmoreeffectiveandefficient. Onceyoudeploytechnology,ensuresystemintegration.Thesystemsoverseeingyourdifferentprocessesmust beabletocommunicateratherthanbeingastandalonesystem.Thereare,alreadyinthemarket,enterprise resourceplanningsoftwareforsmallandmediumscaleenterprisesthatcanhelpyoutofasttrackprocesses andatthesametime,giveyouanintegratedbusinesssolution
Alongwiththese,youcandeploybothnetwork andcommunicationnetworklikecustomer,printersandtelephones Despitetechnologicalinvestments,youwouldstillneedhandstorunthedaytodayoperationsofthebusiness aswellasevenmanthesoftware.Next,youevaluateifyouhaveenoughstaffstocatertoyourcustomer. Evaluateyourindustrytoknowtheaveragenumberofcustomerthatonesingleservicerepresentativecan successfullyhandle.Evaluateyourmanufacturingorproductionlineanddetermineifyouhaveenoughpeople toensuremeetingyourproductioncapacity.Howaboutmanagementlevel?Doyouhaveenoughmanagement staff? ItisnoteverytasksorfunctionthatareeconomicaltohiresomeonetoexecuteinhouseSometimes,itisbetter tooutsourcetheseservices.However,whenoutsourcing,ensurethatyouusetrustedbusinessesorpeoplewho wouldnotdelayyourprocessratewiththeirunreliability.Inmostcases,thesethirdpartieswouldhavemore staff,technologicalinvestmentandindustryknowhowtohandlesuchfunctionmoreeffectivelyandef ciently morethanyourbusiness.Doingthisfunctioninhousemaywasteyourtimeandotherresources.Itisrather betterthatyoutrustthemtoareliableandeconomicalthirdpartytohandle
UNDERSTANDYOUR TARGETEDAUDIENCE
In business, it’s people rst This is why most businesses understand the need to be customer centric. This why you must understand who your customersare.Whenyouunderstandthem,serving them the right services or products becomes way easier Whenyouunderstandyourcustomersneed andservethemtheirneedsplustheirwant,which youwouldunderstandfromstudyingthem,youcan developasystemtoservethembetter.Doingthis would ensure customer retention as well as the generationofnewcustomers.Thisisbecausetheold customers would spread goodwill about your businessandthuscreatemorewillingcustomersfor youatnoadditionalcost.Successiseasytocomeby whenyouhavethisinplace.
DEVELOPMARKETENTRYANDPENETRATIONSTRATEGIES
SCALEYOURBUSINESS
Nowthatyouknowwhattodotoupscaleyourbusiness,youwouldneedtoownyourmarket placetosustainsuchanupscale.Howdoyoudothis?
Whetherforanexistingmarketorenteringanew market,youmusthavebothamarketentryanda market penetration strategy. If you are a service providing business, signing business partnership agreements with businesses whose process line or productdeploymentrequiresyourserviceswouldbe astrategyThereareseveralotherstrategiesthatyou can develop from studying the systems used by bigger companies and modifying them to work for yourownbusinesstoo.
PartnershipsKeepYouinBusiness
YoucandoitallbyyourselfStudyyourbusinessand know your threats and weaknesses Go into partnershipagreementswithanotherbusinesswith strengthintheareaswhereyourbusinessisweak;a symbiotic business relationship that leaves both partiesinawinwinsituation Breakingintoanew territoryiseasierwhenyouareabletopartnerwith existingbusinessesinthatenvironment
DOMINATINGYOURMARKETSPACE
SCALEYOURBUSINESS
Nomatterhowbigyougetorhowsmallyouremain,therewouldalwaysbecompetitorstryingtooutdoyou. Butstayingaheadofthecompetitionisuptoyouandthestrategiesyoucandeveloptorunyourbusinessmore uniquely Stretchyourselftobeateveryoneelseinyourindustrybyensuringabetterserviceorproduct coverage Youmustaimtobecomethefaceofthemarket,asthiswouldhelpyoudiscoverbettermarket opportunitiesdevelopingwithinyourindustrybeforeanyotherbusinesscannoticethem.
STRATEGIZETOOWNTHEMARKET
THANKYOU
