Take a look at this month's edition of the Profit Post!
December 2020
PROFIT POST
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How One Book Completely Changed How We Do Business
And What That Same Book Can Do for You
Sometimes, all it takes to change your life is reading one great book. While December is definitely a month where the holidays hang heavy on the mind, it’s also Read a New Book Month. So, what better time of year to encourage all of you to read the book that has so drastically impacted the way we do business here at Profit Owners? The book I’m talking about is “Profit First” by Mike Michalowicz. If you’ve ever worked with Crulliance before, you’ll know that we’re Profit First certified, which means we’re one of the few accounting firms that will go beyond just helping you with your accounting or doing your tax returns. Where we’re more than just your average accounting firm is in how we strive to help you maximize your profits on top of everything else. This part of what we do seems so ingrained in our firm’s identity that it’s crazy to think there was a time when I let Mike Michalowicz’s book just gather dust on my shelf. Back in 2017, my biggest client at the time brought me that book and swore up and down that I needed to read it. Unfortunately, I did what many people do when they receive a recommendation from someone about a book they should read or TV show they should watch: I ignored it — at least initially. Fast forward to about a year and a half later. I still hadn’t even cracked the cover on “Profit First,” but another client of mine told me that he wanted to implement the Profit First methodologies in his business. He asked if I had read Michalowicz’s book. I told him I had a copy, but I “hadn’t had a chance to read it.” Without missing a beat, my client told me that I needed to read “Profit First.” He told me I would be absolutely blown away. It was after that second recommendation, well over a year after the first, that I finally decided to give it a try. And, as you can tell by our Profit First certification, the rest is history.
As a result, I became one of the book’s biggest advocates — much like the clients who recommended it to me in the first place! It gave me a whole new insight on how I could help my clients not only manage their accounting, but also completely transform their business into one that generates more profit than they ever thought possible.
It’s worked for Crulliance, for Profit Owners, and I believe it’s a strategy that can work for you, whatever line of business you find yourself in. In observance of both Read a New Book Month and the holiday season, I want to send all of you a few gifts. The first is the first five chapters of “Profit First.” Don’t let this valuable content collect dust! The second gift is a free instant assessment of your business’s current financial situation. We want to help you wrap up this chaotic, uncertain year right, so don’t hesitate to reach out to us through our website at Crulliance.com or over the phone at 813-315-8848.
CPA, CIA, CRMA, PFP
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To Target the Right Leads the First Time! Optimize Your List
Your business is nothing without its list. The files upon files of customer data that you have stashed away can give you more insight and direction than most metrics, yet many business leaders know very little about their list — much less how to utilize it. A great list has a few components. It’s usually more than just an Excel spreadsheet with names, addresses, email addresses, preferences, and phone numbers. But if you don’t even have that , then you need to do some serious updating before you go any further! Start by scrubbing your list. Remove any names that are no longer prudent. Then, call the remaining people on the list and verify contact information or ask for additional details. Make this an impossible offer to turn down by providing a reward or something of value to those who opt to share more details with you. As more people offer their information, you have multiple tools to market directly to them. (This will come in handy later.)
break it down . Your list has to be segmented into multiple components to provide a scope of your business’s well- being and to pinpoint target areas. Start with three “buckets”:
specifically target your lists rather than casting a wide net and only catching a few leads. One of the easiest ways to target each group is through relationship marketing. Increase your content production, and keep hitting your customers with your message, using the information from your list to guide you. Start with an email blast, and then pepper in a few postcards. Next, host a Facebook Live event with that very same information and invite a specialty group of people from your list (i.e., your hot leads or loyal customers). Each time you curate a message specifically for a segmented population, you are creating a message that will land right where they need it the most. But don’t let off the gas. Most readers only remember about 10% of what they consume, so keep communicating! With a targeted list, you should have no problem finding a new tactic, a new device, or a new platform to get your message out to the people who need to hear it most. It all starts with perfecting — and updating! — your list.
• Prospects
• Customers
• Bad Leads
From there, you can break the list down even further to include:
• Canceled customers
• Hot leads
• Customers with high spending
• New sales
As you categorize your list into various buckets, a plan will emerge. Your team can develop campaigns to upsell clients who may need more of the services you can offer while pinpointing those who could be resold on your company. This segmented data is then a powerful tool to help you
Now that you have a brand new, scrubbed, beautiful list, it’s time to
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Decisions, Decisions Tactics for Making the Best Business Choices
As a business leader, you’re likely well-versed in making decisions, but in the midst of a global health crisis, a political minefield, and environmental disasters, planning for the upcoming year is different territory for even the most seasoned business professionals. So, how do you make the right decisions for your 2021 plans? Start with these three steps.
world has transformed, and attempting to continue with what’s “normal” will only cause you to miss what could be . As you plan for 2021, consider the abnormal. Look at options you would have never considered doing and test their efficacy. If one fails, move on. But there’s a big chance that you may stumble into something that is totally unique and completely worth your time. NO. 3: EMBRACE CHANGE. You’ve set your course. You have your team in place. You’re excited to begin. Now, get ready to change everything. Sounds exhausting, right? But it can happen. Rather than being resistant to what isn’t working, admit defeat and move on. If there’s one benefit of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that we were all given a crash course on how to adapt quickly. Take those lessons and apply them to your 2021 plan. Be prepared to admit when your original plan isn’t working because staying on an ineffective course can do more harm than good.
NO. 1: LOOK AT THE DATA. Data has never steered you wrong before, so don’t stop using it now. However, you have to use the right data and contextualize it with today’s lenses. For example, when choosing a new marketing campaign or direction, continue looking at the cost, revenue,
potential errors, and risk factors. Use those to make an informed decision about which step to take. For example, is the campaign empathetic to the needs of your clients, or will it come off as tone-deaf? ( Hint : Try split testing in 2020 before fully deploying a new campaign in 2021!) NO. 2: DON’T GO WITH THE STATUS QUO. “This is how we’ve always done it” will kill your business. Nothing is the same as it was just one year ago. The entire
Don’t avoid it. Planning for 2021 is necessary — even if you need to change course quickly.
HAVE A Laugh What Christmas Trees Look Like Worldwide
Whether it's floating on the canal or pictured in lights on a mountainside, the tradition of the Christmas tree is beloved worldwide, and its reiterations might surprise you! For example, the Galeries Lafayette in Paris (not dissimilar to Macy’s in the U.S.) does a dazzling Christmas tree display in their main store. In 2019, they did an incredible upside-down Christmas tree that hung from the ceiling and had a light show every hour. In Rio de Janeiro, they have the world’s largest floating Christmas tree, which is over 85 meters tall and weighs 542 tons! It was revealed with a huge firework show and floated over the gorgeous Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. In Gubbio, Italy, they can see their city’s official “tree” from a hundred miles away — because it’s a massive light fixture along a mountainside. Every year, it’s switched on by a notable figure. In 2014, it was turned on by the Pope, and last year, it was switched on from space!
We hope you enjoyed discovering these international traditions as much as we did. Merry Christmas!
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Inside This Edition
1.
How One Book Completely Changed How We Do Business
2. 3.
Your List Is Your Greatest Weapon
Tactics for Making the Best Business Choices
What Christmas Trees Look Like Worldwide
4.
Avoid These 2 Mistakes for 2021 Sales Success
The 2 Biggest Mistakes You Can Make When Setting Sales Goals for 2021
Regardless of how 2020 treated your business, 2021 is fast approaching, and this past year is about to become a closed chapter. It’s time to examine both the bad and the good that happened in 2020 and set tangible sales goals for 2021. Just be sure you don’t fall into these two traps. Mistake No. 1: Making Your Goals Unrealistic Setting an unrealistic goal for each quarter is sure to lead to failure. The trick is to push the limits of what has been done without settling on a number that is completely unachievable. Remember, if your team begins to exceed expectations, you can adjust and increase your goal! It’s far better to overachieve than to underperform. Finding that perfect goal number means that sales leaders will have to sort through a lot of data. Rely on
both external and internal data to develop an understanding of the sales outlook for 2021. What do the 2020 numbers forecast for your business? What kinds of services or products are the most popular? What’s the forecast of the economy or your industry? These questions can guide you as you set your goals. Mistake No. 2: Failing to Plan Properly You will not accomplish the goals you’ve set for yourself and your team if you don’t provide the steps to get there. Pull information from industry leaders as well as your sales team, workers on the floor, and marketing managers. Your employees have valuable viewpoints on your business, while outside forces shift your view from internal to external. With this combined information, hash out a plan with your sales team. Don’t leave the Zoom meeting until you have tangible steps in place.
A plan is only as good as its execution, and when there’s no opportunity to prepare, it will undoubtedly fail. Your quarterly and yearly sales goals for 2021 should be set now so that your team has ample time to prepare. This will allow for additional training or discussions about proper tactics and strategies for marketing and selling your business to targeted customers. Before you know it, 2020 will be in the past. Don’t forget to make tangible sales goals and a plan for 2021 before it’s too late.
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