So I’m sitting in a chair across the desk from a harried boss/owner or manager, and he’s telling me business is sluggish, so there are certain things he wants to do with his website: change the wording on this page; take out this paragraph and put in something about _____; add our mission statement on the homepage; add all these keywords; et cetera.

The expression, “Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic” comes to mind. I’m happy to do Web copy, but if your business is going south, you don’t fix it by tinkering with the wording on your website. You start by stepping back a few hundred yards and assessing your situation objectively.

You need to ask yourself what’s really causing your business to dwindle.

• A new competitor in town?
• Someone offering what you do for lower prices?
• Are your customer service people surly?
• Is your location hurting you?
• Are your products worth buying?
• Do you have a unique selling proposition, or are you just a me-too?
• Do you keep in touch with your best customers and ask for referrals?
• Are you advertising and marketing or just hoping people will notice you?

Whether you’re experiencing a business slump or going great guns, it’s necessary periodically to take an objective look at your company, your competitors, your customers and potential customers, assess the total picture. Then you need to establish some goals, and to achieve them, do that bothersome thing called “strategizing.”

See, without an overall strategy guiding everything you do, you’re like a ship captain without a map or a destination. Your vessel is simply drifting anywhere the winds and tides take it. You happen upon another ship and shout out for directions. “To where?” the other captain shouts. “Anywhere!” you yell. The other captain hollers, “What are you seeking?” “Anything!” you answer. The captain yells back, “Well, then go any direction you please!” He walks back to the wheelhouse shaking his head.

Enough of the seagoing analogy. Point is, you need to plot out a destination and some goals for your company, for at least the coming year. The best way to do it is by creating a strategic plan. Here’s an excellent article I found about various types of analysis you can use to come up with one.

I know, busy people don’t like to fool with this kind of thing, but it’s absolutely vital. A strategic plan is a map that will guide your ship (or dinghy) safely through the rocky shoals of commerce and on to your goals, no matter which way the winds blow. Because, you see, you’ve included contingencies for their changeability in your plan. Smart, huh?

Guess I wasn’t done with that seagoing analogy after all.

In summary, to succeed in any business, large or small, you need a strategic business plan. You can work on it yourself, call on a business consultant to help you, go to a seminar about it, or ask a friend who’s done one how s/he did it. One way or another, you gotta have a plan.

If you’re in certain counties in Kansas, you can get help developing your plan from a good business consultant for free at the JCCC Small Business Development Center. I recommend them strongly.

Once you’ve gotten your business strategy done, you’ll want to develop a marketing plan and a creative plan. I have a sure-fire process (which you can learn more about here) for developing them. When you’re ready to get the word out about your business in the most cost-effective, effective way, give me a call, and I’ll be happy to help.

Rummaging in a drawer for a certain business card, I unearthed something I had saved and posted to my bulletin board long ago. It’s a short version of how to do a sales pitch. Just five steps everyone engaged in the business of persuading should learn. And that’s really everyone.

When I say “sales pitch,” don’t think used car salesperson. Every one of us needs to sell something to someone every day, whether it’s a thing, an idea, or ourselves. So adapt these steps to your own needs. Fill in the details that apply, and try it out.

Step One: Start where people are.

What’s the current situation of the person you’re talking with or advertising to? What’s going on in their life or business? Speak to that. For instance, “I understand that recently, you’ve been…” whatever their present challenge is. Be sure they confirm that’s what they’re dealing with before moving on.

Step Two: Talk about problems and opportunities.

Try to state the person’s real problem concisely. I mean, if they have identified a problem, but you see that the problem actually is wider or narrower than they can see, describe and explain what you see as the real problem. If they agree, then start talking about how that problem offers the opportunity for growth, greater understanding, better relationships, more revenue, more fun, or another relevant benefit.

Sidebar:

When he measured his wife’s satisfaction level after several weeks of his “campaign,” he found there was a significant improvement. Job well done!

Step Three: Talk about objectives and strategies.

If your person desires the benefit you’ve outlined (accent is on “relevant”), then the next natural step is to set out a specific objective: what the desired outcome of any action taken will be. For example, “We will increase our profits by 12% in the first quarter of 2010.” The objective can’t be vague, as in “We’d like to make more revenue in 2010.” The timeline and identified goal must be clear. When they are set, you can move on to the next part of this step, strategies.

A strategy is a broad plan of action moving you toward the goal. Say you’re selling a new product nobody knows about yet. Your goal is to achieve a certain level of top-of-mind awareness of your product among an identified target group. “Our strategy is to gain 25% top-of-mind awareness of the product among 18-34-year-olds in three selected areas of town by implementing a free sampling program during the month of March. We will establish a benchmark for awareness, then measure awareness among the target group at the conclusion of the sampling program.”

Step Four: Then move to the Selling Idea.

Beyond awareness, you want your target audience to be excited about the product’s benefits, too. What is the compelling selling idea? Maybe a new cell phone has more practical apps than iPhone, and the benefit is that you can get your work done more easily. Or maybe the new phone is ergonomically designed to fit the side of your face, so it’s more comfortable to use. Whatever it is, the selling idea has to be strong enough that people who own a different phone will be motivated to switch.

Step Five: Conclude with how the selling idea solves the problem.

Rosser Reeves’ Unique Selling Proposition still works. The USP is a unique statement no other product/service can or does advertise, compelling enough to get people to buy the product, that can be conveyed in the form of a proposition like, “When you buy the ElfPhone, you get 20 practical new business apps that help you get work done in 50% less time.”

Back to the account executive example, his USP might have been, “When you are my spouse, you get a high level of communication and many behaviors that show you how much I care about your happiness.” Now, what woman could resist a USP like that?