Small business espionage

So you say you are a small business owner, not James Bond.  Well if you want to be successful you better get the tools from M, kiss Miss Moneypenny on the check and hop into your super spy car and get the hottest intelligence on your competitors.

Seriously, the best way to find out what the competition is doing is to find out yourself, first hand, personally.

In the allergy control business I routinely made small purchases from all of my competitors.  I wanted to know how they interact with prospects and customers on the phone. I wanted to know how quickly they shipped products, how they packaged orders, and if they provided any follow-up to the purchase.    I also stayed on the snail mail and email lists for my competitors as well.  I knew when they were running a promotion and when they introduced a new products and if they issued a new catalog.

When I called, I made sure to ask the questions that my customers routinely asked us.  I wanted to compare our response to theirs. I usually tossed in a curveball question to see how they reacted to non routine questions.

So why do this? You can't beat the competition if you don't know how they are operating.  My routine espionage led to the development of "Thank you" inserts to go in each package we shipped.  This simple card just thanked them for their order, gave a number to call if there was a question, and a coupon for their next purchase.  I knew we were distinguishing ourselves from the competition because we were the only company that was taking the time to thank them for their business.  People want to feel appreciated.  For a few cents per order we could make people feel special.

Now maybe you sell used cars and it isn't practical to go to the competitors lots and buy cars, but you can visit the lot as a potential buyer and see how you are treated.  But if you own a car wash, you better be getting your car washed at every other car wash service in town on a regular basis. If your competition is wily, they are doing the same to you right now. What are they learning from you?

Are they learning that you are intent in providing your customers the best service possible as a price they are willing to pay?  Or are they learning that you just whine about your lack of success and never do anything to improve your situation?

They money you spend making purchases from the competition is one of the best investments you can make in business intelligence.   Then once you see what they are doing you figure out how to do it better.  Because success works at improving all the time.

Now quit whining and succeed

A Tale of Two Vendors

How many times did you hear the golden rule when you were growing up?  Treat others as you want to be treated.

In every business I have owned, I made Customer Service a distinguishing characteristic.  Even when we were selling the same product we wanted our customers to have a superior experience than with our competitors.  In the service industry, our technicians were trained to walk through a customer's door and never forget that they were not on a job site, they were in someone's home and to treat it and the occupants with respect.  In the mail order business each order arrived with a signed Thank You note.

It is not surprising that I came to expect the same type of treatment from my vendors.  That doesn't mean being unnecessarily a high maintenance whiney cat (cause no one likes a whiney cat) customer, but a customer that appreciates reciprocal respect.  In small business it pays to maintain good relationships.

Let me tell you about two vendors (both small businesses just starting their journey to profitability.  One grows and is profitable, the other lurches along.  Both came to me for money.

Vendor number one is a friendly fellow.  Always cheerful on the phone.  While his wares are custom-made he delivers high quality items when promised.  You need a rush?  He is willing to work with you.  Let's say he wants to expand and needs a new piece of equipment.  He is a cautious person and eschews debt.  He is short the full purchase price and calls and asks you to review your outstanding invoices and determine if there are any you can pay in advance.  He assures you that this new equipment will allow him to make a better product, faster, and at the same price.

Vendor number two is not a bad guy, but his business does not run smoothly.  He doesn't provide products when promised, he doesn't respond promptly to phone calls or emails (especially if there is a problem) and to make matters worse his bookkeeping is a mess.  He bills for product he hasn't shipped, his packing lists and invoices are not accurate, and he posts your payments incorrectly.  Might not be a bad guy, but no one in your company wants to deal with him.  He calls you because he would like to build up his inventory, but his supplier has him on credit hold and he needs cash to buy more inventory.  He asks me to pay some invoices in advance otherwise he won't be able to supply me the products I need when I need them.

Which of these vendors would get that advance from you?  Which vendor is a business owner that is growing their company, taking care of their customers, and earning respect.  Which is profitable?  Which one do you think is still in business and which one is barely hanging on by their nails.

Which vendor represents your company?  Are you vendor one who is living their dream and making your own success by helping your customers or are you vendor two that is a whiney cat blaming others for their problems, blocking your own success by alienating the people that can help you?

Vendor two sounds like my whiney cat

Don't be a whiney cat

Success Isn't Always an Accident: What is about the most universally annoying thing?...

Success Isn't Always an Accident: What is about the most universally annoying thing?...: What is about the most universally annoying thing?  I dislike whining of all sorts.  The worst is a whiney cat.  Just Google search the term...

What is about the most universally annoying thing?  I dislike whining of all sorts.  The worst is a whiney cat.  Just Google search the term "whiny cat" and you will discover people from all parts are trying to find out how to make their cat jut shut up.  I currently have 2 cats.  Each is given to fits of whining  in their own way. 

Like when one is in the window and the other one has to wait her turn. The whining can really rub me the wrong way.

Another thing that really gets to me is when I see fellow small business owners whine about their situation but do nothing to improve it. 

The great advantage a small business has over the mega corporations is agility and flexibility.  That means you can quickly tack with the winds of change, while the mega corp tankers must slow and then turn.

Rick Warren, the founder of a California mega church likens growing a church to surfing.  You paddle out and then watch the water and look for waves.  Surfing is as much about knowing which swell will become a wave as actually balancing on the board.  You watch for your wave and then go for it! Get ready for the ride of your life.

Running a successful small business and continuing to grow it is very much like being that surfer.  Watch the swells, find your wave and ride it in.  Of course, then it is time to paddle out and do it all over again.

I've built and sold several small businesses, known many successful small business owners and one thing we have in common is NO WHINING!

You have within you the ability to build a great business and be successful but only if you are willing to do the work and STOP WHINING!

This blog will share the insights and tips I have developed after building several successful businesses.  I won't tell you how to get rich quick, because only a fool believes that is possible.  But what I will tell you is that your success in business will depend not on luck but by using tried and true methods methods for building a business that work.

So stop yer whining

You sound like my cats