Business Coaching Tip: Do You Know What You Are Really Selling?

Ihave previously commented that the recipe to beat a recession (in fact any dip in the economy) requires asking some fundamental questions about your business.



I suggested there was a need to clearly answer the following business model questions:

• WHAT products or services do you sell



• WHO buys them



• WHY do they buy them



• HOW do you make a profit out of the transaction

Now that might seem obvious at first glance. "Why, if I'm a florist I sell flowers of course!"



But what about the other products? Do you also sell balloons with "Happy Birthday" written on them? What about greeting cards? Do you "sell" immediate delivery (at a premium of course)?



Now it's unlikely that a customer will choose your business just because you sell cards as most in the industry would. Or should.



Therefore aggressively merchandising those products and allowing them to take up valuable retail real estate is not always a great idea. You should be trying to sell your unique core differentiator which ought to be linked to your core product.



Is it based on the type of exotic plants available or the quality of the arrangements? What is it that determines your UCD? I will look at this topic in more detail in the future. It's important.



But before we get ahead of ourselves, have a really good look at what it is that you sell that brings the customer to your door in the first place. As a business coach I can assure you this will be the key to formulating your future business building strategies.



There is a tendency for business owners to try to increase their sales by asking "what else can we sell?". In fact I have seen the sad evidence of business coaches who have rushed in with the same approach. The result: Clutter, more money tied up in inventory and even more cash flow issues. I have found it far more effective to initially tweak or review the business model or leverage from it. Once it's in tune THEN have a look at the opportunities of expanding the model. Not before.



Understanding the products that are on your menu and the role they play in your overall strategy is essential to repositioning your firm to deal with any economic turmoil or business challenges.



It will always be what the owner brings to the client by way of the core offering that is the primary part of their business model that we are concerned about in our business coaching program. The other products are incidentals and can be a distraction. If we can't get the core offering right the others will fail to deliver that premium that they should.



The "do you want fries with that" approach which these secondary products offer can be a dangerous distraction and can result in what we call in the business coaching game, profit leakage.Sometimes profit "floodage" might be a better descriptor.



It's critical that you have a good handle on theWhat, because it will help ensure the right attention is given to the next two questions that I will cover in future posts, theWho andWhy.



The IT firm that services business clients and also sells equipment needs to be mindful that, chances are, what they are selling is actually the servicing, NOT the equipment. Sure, they may be able to lock the equipment into profitable maintenance contracts, but it is probably the servicing that is the primary part of their business model and therefore the area that will command most attention in the initial stage of our business coaching program.



Lacking a clear understanding of the core product can lead to a significant number of lost opportunities.