posted on Monday, January 18th, 2010
Sales and Gross profit are the engine of every business. Marketing sometimes has a “Black Arts” connotation and professionals in this area surround it in fog and mystery when actually it should be simple and straight forward. There are basic rules for developing marketing plans and marketing strategies which remain constant although the answers will vary enormously from business to business.
Put simply, Marketing is the generation of leads or enquiries and Sales is the conversion of those leads into closed business.
I can lead you through those processes to help you develop an effective marketing plan with cost effective marketing strategies for your business and a sales process which will optimise your sales and profit.
There are many proven strategies for marketing and for sales which can make a huge difference to the results you achieve. You owe it to you and your business to have the very best engine driving you forwards so contact us today to arrange for a meeting to discuss how we can help you to improve your results.
Tags: business development, business marketing, business plan, marketing, profit, profits, sales, sales and marketing
Posted in Sales and Marketing Improvement, articles | No Comments »
posted on Saturday, January 16th, 2010
Two sailing ships set out from Liverpool bound for New York.
One knows that if they keep going they will hit America and head down
a bit for New York.
The other one has a chart, knows the expected currents and winds, checks their position twice a day and adjusts the course as required.
Which do you think will get to New York first?
Which ship are you on?
Do you go into work each day and do what needs doing, ending up wherever you end up at the end of your year?
Or do you have a longer term vision and aim for your business with a plan of how you will get there?
Do you monitor your monthly management accounts against your plan?
Do you have a sales and marketing plan to generate the leads and close those leads to hit your sales and gross profit target?
Do you have an Operations plan to deliver the sales you are targeting?
A personnel plan to ensure you have the right people, properly trained, with new people coming into the business when required?
Do your management information systems give you the KPIs you need to manage your business?
Are you monitoring the right KPIs?
Do your systems support all areas of the business and increase your efficiency?
Could your business planning be better? If so – contact us now.
Tags: business, business development, business plan, leader, sales, sales and marketing
Posted in Business Planning, articles | 1 Comment »
posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009
- Convenience stores
- Retail & Distribution businesses
- Specialist sales and service
- Specialist service businesses in Business to Business and Business to Consumer
- Pet services
- High Tech consultancy
- Recruitment
It can also work for manufacturers, professional services, hotels, leisure and many more.
Tags: business, business development, business franchising, franchise, franchising, how to franchise my business, licensing, profit, sales
Posted in Franchising and Licensing, about us | No Comments »
posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009
There are some who claim they can franchise anything and in most cases this is indeed possible, if you are willing to take fees to produce something that will not work.
At Next Level, our work in this area is based on solid experience which includes:
• Bringing a USA franchise to the UK in the early 80s.
• Franchising two of my own businesses, both from start up, taking one international.
• Being the lead consultant to a major PLC when they brought out a new High Street franchise in the early 90s.
• Working with a variety of businesses to help them set up a franchise or license programme for all or part of their business model.
This contrasts sharply with some franchise consultants who are themselves franchisees who have been trained in franchising but have never done it for their own business, have never sold franchises or recruited or trained franchisees and have never run a franchise network.
We take you through all the issues involved and because we Mentor you to franchise or license your business, our fees are lower but you are involved in every stage and you understand what is being done and why. This means that when you come to recruit franchisees and run your franchise, you understand what you are doing.
Tags: business, business development, business franchising, franchise, franchising, how to franchise my business, license, licensing, profit, sales
Posted in Franchising and Licensing, about us | No Comments »
posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009
Done correctly, franchising or licensing will help you to:
• Grow faster
• Conserve your resources as you are not financing the growth
• Improve cash flow
• Improve profits
• Improve Return on Investment
• Increase the value of your business
• Expand into new regions or countries
It can be used with businesses across most sectors including:
Service providers
- Retailers & Distribution
- Food, leisure, personal services
- Manufacturing
- Professional services
- Consultancy
- Media and Design
- Business to Business
- Business to Consumer
New models have emerged in recent years and franchised businesses in the UK have combined sales of around £20 billion pa – this is a very well established model – could it be suitable for you? Contact us to find out.
Tags: business, business franchising, business management, franchise, franchising, how to franchise my business, license, licensing, profit, sales
Posted in Franchising and Licensing, articles | No Comments »
posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009
A coach asks questions to help lead the client to their answer but may not know the answer themselves. A mentor asks questions, challenges, explores, examines and does know the answers based on personal experience.
Having run and owned various businesses since 1972 including start ups, buying and selling businesses and advising businesses I bring an experienced pair of outside eyes to your business. I continue to learn from every business I work with and can often offer new ways of doing things more effectively or more efficiently, new markets for products or services and new products or services for an existing client or customer base.
Business Planning is an important part of my work with most businesses. This involves reviewing strategic plans and often I am able to suggest changes which increase profits and help the business grow faster.
We can work on a regular retained basis or on a specific project basis.
Tags: business development, business management, business marketing, business plan, change, improving cash flow, leader, marketing, mentor, mentoring, NED, Non Exec Director, profit, profits, sales, sales and marketing
Posted in Virtual Non Exec Director and Mentor, about us, articles | No Comments »
posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009
It is important to stress that we do not put clients into a set programme, leading them through artificial stages. However, every business has to have focus and structure and we use a Toolbox that Brian developed based on personal experience of the key areas essential to a successful business.
Together we assess your business across each of these areas and we agree the priorities for you, your team and your business as no two businesses and their management are identical. This process includes examining your goals and targets for your own business and what needs to be done to achieve your goals.
Contact us to take your business to the next level.
Tags: business development, business management, business plan, improving cash flow, leader, mentor, NED, Non Exec Director, profit, profits, sales, sales and marketing, training
Posted in Business Development, toolbox | No Comments »
posted on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
With over 30 years experience of running businesses across a wide range of sectors I have been able to help many businesses to grow faster.
In some cases they knew where they wanted to go – in others they wanted help to identify their stretegic options and select the best development path for their business.
Before pressing on the accelerator I check that their foundations are sound otherwise ramping up the sales could damage the business.
Using the Next Level Business Solutions’ Toolbox for a successful business we identify any areas needing to be fine tuned before then looking at boosting sales and profits.
Often an outside pair of experienced eyes can spot opportunities that are being missed. Opportunities to do things better, to open new markets, improve customer service, be more efficient, improve systems or management information, improve the business model, improve team working, improve marketing and the sales process.
Tags: business development, business management, business plan, change, coaching mentoring, improving cash flow, marketing, NED, Non Exec Director, profit, profits, sales, sales and marketing
Posted in Business Development, about us | No Comments »
posted on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
All businesses are constrained by the constraints of their leadership and their management. This is not a personal criticism of you – none of us are world class at everything we do, we all have our strengths and weaknesses, our likes and dislikes and these impact on our business.
Not all management teams are fortunate enough to be experienced across all the aspects of 21st century business so what can you do about it?
Are you growing and developing the skills you will need as your business develops and goes to new levels?
Are you developing the management team you will need to enable your business to grow to the level you are aiming for?
Contact us to arrange to meet and find out how we can help you to develop the skills of your leadership and management teams through our leadership and management development programme or through a programme tailored to your specific needs.
Tags: business, business development, business management, business plan, change, coaching mentoring, leader, leadership, leadership and management, leadership management, management development, mentor, mentoring, NED, Non Exec Director, profit, profits, removing constraints, sales, sales and marketing, team development
Posted in Business Development, Leadership and Management Development | No Comments »
posted on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Every business benefits from an outside pair of experienced eyes which is one of the reasons why most larger businesses and all listed PLCs have Non Execs on their Board.
Our Virtual Non Exec service gives your business all the benefits of a Non Exec without the legal complications.
My first directorship was in 1972, since when I have spent my working life running, owning and advising businesses in a variety of sectors and ranging from start ups to turnover of £10m plus pa.
This enables me to spot opportunities which are being missed. Opportunities to improve how things are done, to save costs, to increase sales, find new markets, improve systems and refine the business planning, strategy and longer term planning.
To explore what benefits you could get from this service please contact us now.
More Information…
Tags: business, business development, business management, business plan, change, coaching mentoring, leader, leadership, leadership and management, management development, mentor, mentoring, NED, Non Exec Director, profit, sales
Posted in Business Development, Virtual Non Exec Director and Mentor, about us | No Comments »
