What High-Growth CEOs Do Differently

Want to build a fast-growth business? An expert explains the four aspects of your business you should be focusing on.

Business coach and consultant Jim Schleckser has spent years trying to understand how start-up and small business CEOs budget their time. Not surprisingly, the best CEOs--the ones that are able to grow highly-profitable, fast-growing companies--had a lot in common.
As part of the CEO Project, a boot camp for entrepreneurs, Schleckser advises CEOs and company founders on the most important areas of their business to focus on. At the core of his advice, Schleckser believes CEOs need to put the blinders on and focus on what truly drives growth. Here are the core components Schleckser says you should focus on.

Business Model
"Time spent on your business model drives growth," says Schleckser. Most importantly, CEOs should aim to increase the proportion of recurring revenue in their businesses

"Lock revenue each year," he says. "And when you decide to sell your business, you'll get higher offers."

Schleckser also challenges CEOs to raise prices. "Pricing drives profitability," he says. "I recommend you go home and raise your prices 10 percent."

Lastly, CEOs need to have a product so strong, he calls it the "mafia offer," an offer your customers can't refuse.

Talent
Schleckser believes all CEOs need to add  "Chief Talent Officer" to their title.
"Better players on the field means better performance," Schleckser says. The silver lining of the recession was that plenty of talented workers are looking for jobs--now is a good time to snatch up great employees at a reasonable price.
"You're able to get talent now that you couldn't get years ago," he says. "You need to be out there looking for talent all the time. Put a few of the A-players in, it's like magic in changing the business performance."

Process
What seperates good companies from great companies are those that are able to differentiate their brand based on better processes. What does that mean in practice? Schleckser advises CEOs to always being developing new product lines, adding value to current processes, eliminating waste, reengineering processes, and standardizing methods.

"Go the extra mile," he says. "Design processes that fulfill promises to your clients."

Leadership Approach
At the beginning of the company's lifecycle, CEOs are involved in all aspects of the business. But as the company grows, the CEO needs to be able to defer power to managers.
"It feels great to close a sale," says Schleckser, "but if a CEO is out selling, he's not doing his job."
The point is to foucs on the aspects that will drive future growth, and that often means taking the CEO out of his or her comfort zone.

http://www.inc.com/eric-markowitz/what-high-growth-CEOs-do-differently.html

Don’t Cut Your Price: 6 Tricks

The pressure to discount can be overwhelming. These conversational tricks can help you push back.

Here's a sentence no seller wants to hear: "Can I get a better price on that?"

The information explosion, globalization and economic pressures have created an environment in which everyone believes that they can get anything you are selling for a lower price. Buyers have access to many more suppliers and can make a decision with greater confidence–even without a personal or local relationship.

Here are six smart ways to win sales without having to compromise on price.

1. Bring new information.
Often the buyer is using inaccurate information or inaccurately applying information. By bringing new insights and new facts to the conversation, you can move the conversation from “price only” (or worse, “cheaper only”) to real issues.

Recently one of my clients was faced with a “drop your price by 35% or else” ultimatum. By demonstrating the real raw cost numbers for materials, they were able to disarm the “drop or lose” threat.

2. Give buyers a different way to look at information.
Misunderstandings often are rooted in context: A prospect or client may not be considering seasonality, expedited vs. standard shipping, regular vs. remnant pricing, full featured vs. basic specifications. One way to change the conversation is to ask: “Which characteristics of our more fully featured approach would you like to remove in order to receive the deeper discount?”

3. Let the customer control the conversation.
Customers often feel powerful and informed–so if you try to take control of the conversation, you may create a confrontation. By letting a customer have control and talk themselves through the pricing concerns, you can steer a conversation rather than fight it.

As one of my mentors often says, “Don’t be frustrated; be fascinated.” Ask questions and guide rather than argue. Read more: 3 Things My Mentors Taught Me

4. Focus on yield, not price. 
Many times, the difference between prices is not seen in the inputs, but the outputs. How will your product, service or solution affect the yield of your customer’s process? By keeping the discussion on the buyer’s business issue, you align your prices with their real needs.

5. Understand your own math.
Smart sales people understand the numbers of the buyer’s industry and competitors as well as their own. This allows you to be more versatile in the conversation.

6. Be prepared to walk away.
Easier said than done, I know. However, if you're not really willing to walk away from a bad opportunity, you can waste a great deal of time with bad prospects.

Often, you face a buyer who learned that pounding on suppliers for lower prices demonstrated strength. That buyer missed the rest of the lesson: the value of being effective. In a situation like that, you have to diagnose early and exit fast.

http://www.inc.com/tom-searcy/dont-cut-your-price-6-tricks.html