It can be very frustrating for business owners when team members simply will not do what is asked of them. This frustration is compounded even more when this attitude spreads to other team members and the business owner is fearful of the the team. This happens often – its a form of bullying. And the team member uses the threat of Employment Law as a tool to beat up on the owner.

So what can be done about this? The answer is lots but it does require some learning, some discipline and a measure of assertiveness.

Step 1. Understand the law and how it is also there to protect you. Take the time to read the Employers Guidelines that are written by ISME (Irish Small & Medium sized Enterprises Association) or the SFA (Small Firms Association)

Step 2. Make sure that every employee has a written Job Description that allows you some scope to change the role as your business changes.

Step 3. Give people clear goals and objectives either weekly, monthly or annuallly or all of the above.

Step 4 – When asking someone to do something in the business, be very clear with the instruction, set a timescale for completion and request that any problem with it be flagged early

Step 5  - Introduce accountability and check that work is being done

Step 6 – If the work is not being done having completed all the above, start issuing verbal and written warnings and make sure that the employee understands the seriousness of their actions.

Your objective is to drive the business in a particular direction. Your teams objectives should reflect this. If they choose to drive the business in a different direction you must take immediate action.

Sounds Simple – It is, but its not always easy. It gets easier if you persist and get outside your comfort zone. If you need help – call me – 087 222 0720

Well, there is a lot that you can do. You can act quickly and get a result thats good for all. There is a good deal of learning to be done at the same time because if you do not learn, history will repeat itself.

You must be a great leader in your business and you will attract great people.

Firstly, you’ve got to answer this question. Did you hire bad people or did they get bad since you hired them? Either way, the problem is still yours. Quite often, the hiring process is overlooked so this is a good place to start irrespective of outcome. Take it slowly.

Back to the underperforming employee. before you begin the process of fixing or firing youve got to have a few things in place. This is because if things go wrong, you need to be compliant.

1. Proper contract of employment – This is a very simple one page document and is for your benefit as much as the team member.

2. Job description – outline in detail what the role entails and more specifically what you expect from the team member and how performance will be appraised.

The standards and levels of commitment required by SME companies are rising and its not ok just to turn up for work and expect to get paid. So this needs to be outlined to the team member from the outset and right through their career. This does not mean that work becomes difficult, it just means that people know what they have been hired to do and by doing that, it will help them in their career as well.

It’s OK to challenge someone if their work is not up to scratch. Its OK to challenge someone  if their attitude towards their work, their work colleagues, their bosses or their customers is not what it should be. Its costing the business owner money every time.

It may be that they need to talk about an issue and  maybe you can help. It may be that they have other stresses in their lives – You need to know that but you do not need to fund that for an extended period. It may be that they are unfilled in their career and they need a new challenge – You may need to help them with that.

Remember that sometimes people need to step outside their comfort zones and and make a change for themselves. Sometimes, you as a business owner have to accelerate this process. Are you ready? Call me on 087 222 0720 to discuss.

For many business owners, the day that they sell their business is the day that they are finally rewarded for all their days and years of hard work and effort. For others its the day that they give up on their dream, having worked hard with little to show. How would your business fare?

Some things that make your business more saleable and more valuable?

1. Repeat Business
2. Low skill levels
3. High Cost of Entry for Start Ups
4. Loyalty of customers to your business type in general.

What makes it even more valuable is:

1. That is can run without you and is not dependent on any individual to survive
2. That is has excellent measurements and controls and can demonstrate how it reacted in the face of adversity
3. A solid Balance Sheet
4. A Business Plan that has delivered over the years and a business plan for the future

As a business owner, YOU must spend time increasing the value of your business every week. Expecting it to happen automatically is a foolish mistake and one that can be avoided.

We work with business owners who want to add more value to their business so that if they choose to sell it the could, and for a decent profit. Call us today on 087 222 0720.

Most business owners and team spend so little time actually marketing or selling their business, it is amazing that they survive at all. Very little real time is given to sales and marketing on a consistent basis and many people will avoid it at all costs. Yet they will complain if they are quiet and they will attend functions and rallies to speak about the economy.

Participate in your own rescue. Meet people who can purchase your product or service and understand how best to position your product or service with them.

People also overestimate how good they are at Sales and they claim that they have very high success rates. In fact the real success rates are much lower. Solution: Measure your rates of conversion, establish 3 or 4 ways to improve your conversion and then train your team.

Both of these suggestions cost little or nothing to implement but they will increase your profits. Call me on 087 222 0720 for a FREE consultation about your business today.

Register now for the webinar

 Join us on Wednesday Evening for a Fast Paced 35 Minutes of Sales Help for you and your business. Every business needs to be excellent at sales, you need to understand that sales are the lifeblood of the business and that if you are to achieve success, you must focus your efforts on sales first. Register Today – Its FREE

When working with clients, we use the following formula to help them get some definition, some direction and some focus.
Dream x Goal x Plan x Action

1. Dream – Take the time to think big, what do you really from from your life and your business – be specific. Think long term like 5 to 10 Years.

2. Goal – to help you achieve your dreams, what specific goals would you need to set to ensure that you are on the right journey – These are like milestones and are between 3 months to 3 years away. Again be as specific as you can

3. Plan – every business needs a plan yet so few ever write a plan after the first few months of business. A plan in more about the process of thinking and writing and sharing than the actual document that you produce but it causes you to ask “how to” or “how can I” questions. Again it helps to keep the daily challenges in perspective.

4. Act – Often where most people struggle – working their plan. What tasks will you do in your business every day that will help you move towards your goals and achieve the tasks in your plan. How will you recover from setbacks. How disciplined will you be.

If your dreams really inspired you and your goals were clear, your actions on a daily basis would have more purpose and conviction. Start today

Call Derek O’Dwyer today on 087 222 0720 if you would like to take your business to the next level.

“I prepared a business plan which got me a loan but did not reflect how the business fared at all.”

“Most of the assumptions that I made in my business plan were wrong and the plan did not work”

“My business plan lacked any real insight into what really happens in business”

“you cant plan for my business – its too un-predictable”

“I have not got time to do a plan – I’m too busy (not making money)”

And these are the reasons why most people fail to plan. Too often, plans are too broad brush, too long terms and fail to cover the specifics of what has to be done, today, tomorrow, next week and the week after.

If you would like to get down to the nitty gritty, to identify the top 10 things that you must do in your business in the next 3 months, then you need to attend GrowthCLUB.

Book your event today in Galway on January 9th or Ennis on January 16th

If you you like to work on a personal business plan outside these dates contact me today.

This inconsistency can often spiral out of control and leave all these good companies teetering on the edge. And often for no good reason. They have all made sales, they have all been paid but they have not achieved consistency. Or they have stopped doing what works in their business.

An important aspect of sales and marketing is to test and measure every aspect of your sales and marketing. This way you can make solid informed decisions and reduce the amount of money you have to spend to make each sale. Because people do not measure, they often get tired of running sales and marketing strategies that actually work and that do not cost them much. And then the cashflow dis-improves and then their business struggles and then they do not know what they should do.

To learn how to improve your consistency contact me today….

How often does it happen in your business where you hear excuse after excuse about why  things are not being done, why customers and not being treated correctly, missed deliveries, missed deadlines, wrong deliveries, wrong margins, low sales. After excuses very often come blame. Each team member want to blame someone else in their business or someone external to the business like the customer or the supplier or the minister for finance or the bank manager.?

If your business suffers from “Blame” and “Excuse” overload, you will find it extremely difficult to make a profit in your business. Its the same as playing a game of football with a group of uncommitted players. The only difference in the game of football is that they would be substituted immediately, or you as the manager would be removed by either the players or the board.

The opposite to tolerating “blame” and “excuse” is to introduce a system of “Ownnership” and “Accountability” to your business. More than anything else, this attitudinal and behavioural change will dramatically alter the result you are achieving in your business.

One word of warning – “The Change Has To Start With YOU”  Are you ready and prepared to work harder on yourself so that you can lead a high performance team?

Call 087 222 0720 today to begin the process….

1. You can work more hours!

2. You can get better at selling!

Which option carries the most appeal for you? When you consider that the number 1 reason for business failure is burnout, it would seem that far too many people opt for the “work harder” approach. Why is this? Is it because they are afraid to look closely at themselves and their approach to selling and marketing. Are they in danger of getting caught in a rut.

If you own a business, your mantra should be:

“work harder on myself than I do on my business”

If you adopt this as your approach to business, it will cause you to learn more, challenge yourself to explore better ways of doing this, cause you to consider leverage in your business, stop you from being the busy foll and ultimately will lead you to success.

Many business owners make the fatal mistake of not improving their business as time goes by. They may change their products and they way the make the product but do they change their approach to customers and sales, their approach to their team. The answer is no.

If your business needs more sales, ask yourself this question. – How many sales do we make from every 10 enquiries that we get for our product or service. Ifs its less than 6, then you need to work on your sales process.

If you business need more enquiries because your conversion rate is great, then thats all about marketing and understanding who you are targeting and how to get to them.

To make sure that you maximise the return that you get from your marketing and sales, contact Derek on 087 222 0720 today.