Books on methods abound on the shelves of bookstores specializing in entrepreneurship and are often invoked as a manual of good conduct for the entrepreneur. Some believe that business success depends on intuition and the entrepreneur actually flips a coin as he is endowed with a bump of luck. They envy them and discourage them from continuing their adventure when the odds mount. However, if we look at companies over the long term, we can see that luck or intuition can be an asset, but the ability to apply methods is the source of a sustainable company.
To not freeze your business now and go beyond the eternal glass ceiling, there is no secret. Simple methods are to be adopted. to analyse.
Whatever the size of your company, having a long-term strategic vision and implementing it remains complex. When you have to go beyond your limits, there’s a simple reflex: set yourself a goal that’s more ambitious than the real thing. Sometimes it is not possible to reach the real target immediately because you have set the bar too high. Try to get closer to him slowly. When an athlete performs a pole vault and crosses a bar he had never reached, he often mentally considers it 20 cm above. Even if he does not manage to reach the desired height in one go, he crosses his limits and achieves his goal because of his perseverance. This metaphor applies to any entrepreneur who wants to excel! Thus you will be in a position to give your maximum. To be successful, you must also rely on certain levers. In the context of an SME, there are five main ones.
Marketing: What products or services to offer and in which markets?
The first lever is based on marketing strategy. More specifically, we speak of “victory marketing”. This method involves establishing segmentation of your offering by adopting product/market pairs. Clearly, it is a question of offering a product or service to the market that matches it so that your offer is best suited to demand. If you don’t know how to go about it, start by testing it with your target to make sure your product or service meets demand. This type of survey will allow you to compare it to your market, but also to improve it if necessary. You’ll waste less time imagining what your future customers want, and you’ll be able to learn from your mistakes more quickly. The founder of Aloe Resto, Sebastian Forest, admits in several interviews that taking into account customer opinions has been decisive in developing their turnover… without spending a single penny. In his case, the implementation of the survey allowed the company to “identify consumption patterns”, “draw the lines of growth and improvement” such as loyalty programs and rating systems restaurants. other uses? Understand how your product/service does not meet customer expectations, know the benefits of other existing products/services, and understand the barriers to using your products/services. Issues related to innovation and improvement will be easily identified. One of the main advantages of smaller structures is the ability to be more responsive than industry leaders who are stuck in lengthy processes. To improve everything, don’t neglect the day before to keep track of what your competitors are doing.
Organization: Surround yourself with the right people.
Too often, when a company develops, the leader isolates himself and herself from basic signals such as those emitted by customers but also by its employees. Sure, once a company has a hundred employees, it’s not always easy to remember everyone or have free time. But as a leader, you have to uphold the spirit and culture of your company and try to stay connected. You obviously can’t do everything and be everywhere, so you have to learn to surround yourself and delegate people you can trust, especially in situations of double-digit growth. Even if your business is growing rapidly, do not be careless in recruitment. A bad investment can be very costly… If you don’t have much time to devote to it, just take a quick walk to greet the candidate and exchange a few words with them. A bad intuition almost always turns out to be true, regardless of appearances. Another trick? For example, stand at the entrance of your company in a cafe and watch your teams arrive. If you see some people who are hesitant or sad when they come, go ahead and see if everything is okay. You might be surprised at the result.
Occupation: Having the right equipment.
With ever-increasing competition, a business strategy must be established and structured. Of course, technical processes are often accompanied by the establishment of documentation, but for an SME, the commercial function often remains less “industrial”. However, it wins by having the function. For an effective business strategy, therefore, you will need to establish indicators and effective prospecting methods. So you should be able to answer questions like: How many appointments were made by each salesperson? How many calls were made? How many customers have been converted? They should also have a clear plan for prospecting as well as documentation to match your services. More clearly, it is a question of structuring your business approach. This will improve your overall vision of each of the fluctuating elements and allow you to understand them better.
Financing: Knowing your needs and finding solutions.
This point of leverage is certainly one of the ones that an entrepreneur is most intimidated by. This is the crux of the war because you must have a clear vision of your company’s financial strength. It would be a shame to close your business due to lack of cash in the midst of a boom in business! And believe it or not, it happens more often than you think. To keep the odds in your favor, financial engineering often proves critical to your cash flow as well as estimating needs, calculating WCR, and consolidating your equity if necessary. To do this, it is necessary to proceed systematically, and regularly monitor the implemented systems. Many business owners use accountants to stay informed, which can be a good idea. The ideal remains to find an expert partner in the field who will take care of it.
Communication: internal, external or institutional.
The part related to communication becomes transverse to the four levers defined above. From sales brochures to websites or blogs, from sales brochures to exhibition stands, from intranets to personal roadmaps, support is many and varied. Don’t forget that everyone needs some form of consistency in order to best meet a company’s vision, its values, and be understood by all of its employees. Communicating well will keep you moving in that direction and avoid any confusion that could hurt the company. If there are any conflicts with your values, you may be in the wrong direction, so you may as well define them quickly.