This is one of my favorite aspects of a business.  Most people are cautious and want to do things their way … all the time.  I have heard many small business owners, tell me they wanted to get into business, because they wanted to work alone and could not work with others.  I think is a weak perspective.  Working with the right committed partner vendors and other such partners is a fantastic way to grow you business and create something of tremendous value, that will be bigger and more successful than anything you can create by yourself.

Here are some thoughts on why I think this way ….

1. Partnerships as the force multipliers a business can develop to compete and win in the market place.
2. Reaching out and developing the right partnerships that help support and enhance the product or service offering of a business is a way to grow a business faster.
3. The right partners can effectively increase revenue, ensure delivery and service and reduce costs.
4. The right partners can help a business enter new markets much faster than if they tried to do it themselves.
5. The wrong partnerships can ruin a company.

Partnerships Work!

To put things in perspective, let me talk about what is going on with my own business.  I am currently re-designing my model again and have started having conversations with people I worked with when working with Chet Holmes and Tony Robbins at BBI.  We have all left that organization and have been out of it for over two years.  We happened to reconnect and I was telling them what I was doing and one thing led to the other and now over 5 of us are working together.  We compliment each others skills and have a fantastic synergy that magnifies each of our value propositions to the market place.  The result is that the customers we serve get a tremendously better deal and a much more comprehensive set of solutions that are producing results that any one of us could not have produced, if we were working alone.

The power in the collective is far greater than any of the alleged complications that one might notice in the management and fulfillment of a partnership.

Here are some key ideas to remember …

1. All businesses needs things that have to be purchased, just to survive and thrive. Purchasing uses money and profits the business has.  Knowing how to purchase things wisely is a skill that will make the difference between being successful and being a failure.
2. In addition to negotiating a better price for things, knowing when to purchase or not purchase something is critically important.
3. Businesses that do not purchase the right material, people, services, licenses, technology etc. could in essence, commit suicide.
4. Not all purchase require money.
5. Knowing what to purchase, when and how is important and I submit is an art.

Having worked with hundreds of business owners and watching them manage their business affairs, I have see some interesting situations.  One situation comes to mind.  We were in the lobby of a newly acquired building and the owner, a client of mine was excited to renovate the upstairs and get it ready for some tenants that were ready to move in, in a couple of weeks.

So to put things in perspective, the owner was worth about $110 million and had about 12 different companies he owned.  Yet, he thought like a street kid and got involved with purchasing the carpeting needed for the upstairs.  Since he knew someone in the business he made some calls and got a fantastic deal of left over carpet from a dealer in the business at about a 75% discount and had it shipped over in a couple of days.  He then called a friend who was a handy man and suggested he do this project over the weekend.

This entire process of him making this decision took about 7 minutes at which point he says … “there you go! I just saved $18,000 and that goes straight down to the bottom line.  Lets go for lunch!”

I ask you … what are you purchasing? Can you do it better? Can you negotiate better deals?  Are you buying from the right place, at the right time?  For instance, if you like boats or motorcycles … do not think about buying one in Spring or Summer?  They are in demand and prices are high.  Buy them in Fall or in the dead of winter. You will get the best price for them then.

If you are like me, the same practice goes for buying Polo Ponies

I have had it! I am done! I think it is time to go back, turn the clock back 100 years or more. Act as if you live in a small town where everyone body knows everyone else’s business and start acting accordingly.

In that scenario … would you lean on an elevator pitch to tell someone who you are what you do? Doubt it. They know who you are and know everything about you and your family, your uncles, your aunts and your dogs name.

Today, we are pretty much back in that. We are in one big digital, always on-line village. A digital fish bowl of sorts. Where everyone has access to you, your life, where you work, who you dated, what you do and what your clients and critics think about you. Your elevator pitch is just a strategy you must master to get your narrative down cold. But, I would say … do not use it as a slick way to get your message across real fast and easy. Very rarely is that ever received well.

So how do you make a sale? How do you get in the door? How do you get past hello? How do you get off 1st base? That is simple. You go back to basics.

There are few steps in traditional selling that cannot be missed … ever.

1. You build rapport
2. You build trust
3. You find out if they have a problem you can help them with
4. You find out how they might compensate you if you could help them
6. You show them how you can help them
7. You come to an agreement about what you will do
8. You deliver
9. They pay you.
10. You ask for referrals

That’s it. Simple, Done!

Your reputation is your elevator pitch.
Your professionalism and respect is your elevator pitch.
Your sense of caring and going the extra mile is your elevator pitch.

More revenue, More profits, More time = Many more chukkers!

I am offering members of the International Polo Community an opportunity to work with me so I can help you make more money and design better business strategies so you can spend more time with your family and ultimately  … play more Polo!

Its all about taking successful people to the next level!

I recently started playing polo and love the sport so much that I have decided to grow my business with people who are into the sport just as I am.  I have been helping thousands of people and hundreds of business organizations in several countries over the last 20 years.  The philosophy and the approach I invented to do this is called Wha-Dho (the Way of Harmony) and helps you link your story of life and living with your business strategy.  It really is a conversation of power!

I will tailor what I do with you, in a way that best serves you and your business situations.  But generally speaking increasing revenue is a good place to start.

• Step 1. I will help you and your sales teams to close more deals in the next 90 Days.  As I help improve your sales activity, I will learn a lot about your organization and will start formulating my strategy moving forward.
• Step 2. We will identify and complete more profitable transactions.  This is the fun part – because you will start noticing how easy it is to grow business – by focusing on what is producing the best results i.e.; profit. One consistent piece of feedback I get is how so many of my clients did not realize the tremendous resources they already had access to.
• Step 3. After we have made you a lot of money and potentially bought a few more Polo Ponies; I will help you design and roll out a profitable growth strategy.  This is where we push hard for 18 months or more and make a significant impact in the market place. … And play more polo.

If any of this makes sense … Let’s have a conversation and talk about how I might be able to help you.

• I am Ready To Play More Polo!!
  

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  Special Offer:
  If you come to Cincinnati and spend a day or two with me reviewing your business.

I will give you a Swing Performance Analysis session.

This is a rare opportunity to spend time with Kit Collins of Virtual Polo and will help take your polo game to the next level.

Checkout his super advanced moving mechanical horse called “Dreamer” below.

http://virtualpolo.com/swing_analysis_training.php

Here are some photos from our 2012 Season in Cincinnati, OH

To take your business to the next level of success and profits – we have developed a very structured strategy designed to produce results.  These three steps are …

1. Revenue Generation — we help you close more deals with the people you know.
2. Increase profits — we help you sell more of your most profitable offerings.
3. Stable Growth — we help you design and execute a stable, profitable growth strategy.

In the evolution of a business entity it goes through several stages of growth and learning.  Yes, learning.  Most of you might not realize that learning is the fundamental element of change that allows for the organization to get to the next level.  This learning happens more often than not … unconsciously.  But until the people involved learn to act powerfully and differently growth will not happen.

The larger organizations got bigger, because they figured this out along the way.  Companies like GE have Corporate Universities to address this fundamental need. How are you addressing it?  How are you helping your teams of people learn the skills needed to

1. Observe the need for change.
2. Design appropriate action.
3. Develop systems and SOPs.
4. Practice the performing of these new tasks and then …
5. Perform them in a way that produces desired outcomes.

Let’s have a conversation about how we could help you take your life and your business to the next level of revenue and profits.  You deserve to have a better future, let us help you get there.

1. Changes in technology potentially allow business organizations to expand their space of possibility to act.
2. Better technology could be used to design better processes that produce an increase in transactions and revenue.
3. Better technology could enable better communication with partners, clients, prospects and the community at large.
4. Better technology could help improve operations to increase efficiencies in time, responsiveness and money leading to more profits.
5. Embracing the rapid changes in technology in a way that serve the interests of the business is a critically important skill to master.

As we move in society and stay committed to growing our businesses, it is imperative to leverage the right technologies at any given time.  Placing the needs of your business ahead of the desire to use the latest technology is the best way to grow your business in a profitable manner.

Technology is only a force multiplier to enable the business to do what it needs in more effective and profitable manner.

Every business needs people for it to exist and function; from the executives and employees to their partners and vendors to prospects and clients. Making sure you have the right people in your business is the first step to creating an efficient, sustainable business.  Business teams have to learn to communicate and work effectively to provide value to their customers.

Attracting the right client base is also important. Marketing to and engaging with the wrong client base – people who you cannot help or those that do not have the resources to pay you; contribute to tremendous risks and loss in revenue and wasted effort and time.

Who have you chosen to work with?

1. You can choose your business partners and executives as well as your vendors.
2. You  can also choose the client groups (demographics) you serve.
3. Effective business (those making profit) take a lot of effort to hire the right people within the organization and spend a lot of money in marketing to attract their right customers.
4. Engaging with the wrong people in your business adds tremendous cost in inefficiencies and law-suits.

Good business people know their numbers.  Bad business people do not.  Do you know you numbers related to cash-flow?  You must and you must master them.  You must know how much cash you need to keep you business afloat on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis. You must know when it peaks and dries out. When might you need financing? What is the cost of financing? What is the cost of holding on to cash and not fueling innovation and growth?

Here are some pointers to clarify the fundamentals …

1. Cash-Flow is like the life force that runs through a business. Without it a all business will come to halt.
2. Managing cash-flow is an art and a science.
3. Too much of cash and you will be risking too much of that which is important and you will miss out on potential earned interest, if it was working for you.
4. Too little and you risk it all.
5. You can access your cash from earnings or from investments; which is where financing becomes relevant.
6. All financing invokes cost. There is a cost associated with buying cash-flow, if you cannot make it yourself.

Everyone wants to grow their business, Right? Well most people do.  I have actually met a few who are comfortable with it being the way it is and are just not interested in taking it to the next level.  Though there is a bigger group of you out there, who say you want to grow your business, but who act in a way that does not support this fundamental idea.  If you are reading this blog post — I give you a 9/10 chance that you are in this group of people.

Read on  … this post is for you.  Here are some basic pointers to let you know a little more about Growth Planning and why it is important for your business.

1. Growth Planning is the process by which a company makes a strategic decision to grow one or multiple aspects of the product line or service offering.
2. The choice and design of the growth strategy is a very important issue that needs to be addressing in a positive way.  Far too many companies close and go out of business because they made errors in assess the value of new opportunities during this process.
3. The best growth plans are those that come from the interaction with clients and understanding their needs.
4. All Growth Planning comes from the identification of a duplicateable solution to a problem many people have.

Here are 3 words that will save you time, money and a lot of heart ache … Test, Test, Re-Test.

I care about how much money you are taking home!  Yes, you have to grow revenue, but it’s how much you take home and keep is what really matters. The primary value I offer you is to help you link your story of life and living with your business strategy.

First Step:
I get to know you and your business.  I am old fashioned — I like to come and spend a day with you.
During this site visit — I do three things ….

1. I get to know you — who you are, what are you strengths, your weaknesses, your concerns, your goals, your hot spots that need immediate attention.
2. I get to know you business — what are its strength, who are the people on your team, where are the risks, what are the opportunities for growth.
3. I look at revenue and your pipeline — I am passionate about helping increase revenue ASAP — 9 out of 10 times, I help my clients accelerate a few deals in the pipe line and get them closed in the first 90 Days.

I want to end up being totally free and be a source of constant growth and profitability for you.  And if I am not that and do not see that happening relatively quickly then I will most probably terminate our working relationship.  Once you send the complete payment in advance, I send out paperwork that needs to be filled out before we meet. So we can hit the ground running.

Second Step:
I get your marketing and sales engine working and start making you money.  Even in this step I like to work with what you have first and then step it up to the next level.  I will work with your internal staff or existing resources and suggest people to help you if needed. I have a whole bank of people that I can activate to take care of your needs.

Areas that I will me looking at are ….

1. Marketing – messaging, branding, social media, PR, partnerships, etc
2. Sales – closing deals, sale people, product/service value assessments, etc
3. People – get the right people in the right seats on your bus.

Third Step:
Create long lasting value by developing business infrastructure and people teams that operate at peak performance levels on a regular basis, so you can live the life of your dreams.