1. Focus: Target more narrowly and more accurately
Hi again, this is a case of thinking like your prospective buyer. To grow your sale price, quite simply you need to grow in ways that is going to be important to the prospective buyer, why he/she will pay more your biz vs. for any other similar biz on the market. There is no silver bullet in this one guys, your business value will grow when the current and the perceived future value grows.
Where to start? Well, in order to grow the topline sales value you need first a written plan
(Goals with practical detailed strategies) that you then follow (implement).
Believe me people, it wont just happen organically, you have to be disciplined in thinking it up, committing it to writing, and then manifesting it. Of course you can ‘wing it’, but your results will be at least less than half of the sale price you could get with a good plan. If I were you, I would start 2-3 years in advance at least, to give yourself a chance to manifest the growth that will come from following a well-balanced and creative marketing and business plan. A Plan is crucial if you ever want to raise money to expand – as a prospectus to hand over to. Of course, there are tons of people who do ‘plans’ that are virtually cut and paste descriptions of your current business. This wont help you do squat.(sorry). This is not what you need. You need a business growth plan or marketing growth plan. A plan that will show you HOW to grow, and not just who you are or what you need to do. You should expect actual examples or how to do things in a cost efficient and creative way.
In your planning, I recommend you focus on the following 4 areas, or objectives, from which the strategies are derived.
Use this as a checklist if you will:
1. Grow the topline sales value of your client ‘book’
Current sales:
- Grow the number of buyers
- Grow the number of dollars each buyer spends
- The Frequency with which they return
Likely Future sales
- Look to Grow the likely lifetime value of each client
2. Grow % profit margin and show a profit growth trend
Look to grow profitability via
- More efficiently sourcing labour or materials or
- Offering higher added value that people are prepared to pay more for
3. Build a brand that has recognized value
- Unusual differentiated Products &Services
- Build an image of superiority in a certain key aspect (ie spend money behind marketing)
4. Build a smooth running, replicable going concern
- Have replicable systems in HR, Operations, Marketing and Sales
- Have ongoing forward marketing and sales activity plans
How to achieve this, you ask?
Check out my blog: 6 Marketing Strategies which will give you some good practical ideas
