What are your strengths & weaknesses?
Describe your strengths and weaknesses for me. Don’t worry. I’m not writing about how to ace a job interview. Although, this is one of those all-time favorite questions people like to ask job applicants. And the trick to giving a great interview is to twist and play with the English language to make your weakness sound like a positive trait. You know, something like, “Well, I’ve been told that my attention to detail can intimidate my co-workers because most of them do not possess the same level of detail.” Puh-leeez!
Well, as a business owner or business development director, it’s important to take an honest look at what your company is doing to increase sales, revenues and profitability. So, what are your strengths and weaknesses in your business development efforts?
It’s important to understand your strengths and weaknesses so you know where, specifically, you need help. Let’s start with a list of common SalesMarketing101 components:
Data & Data Management - Is your data in a spreadsheet that is rarely looked at or is it continuously updated and managed in a Contact Relationship Management (CRM) tool?
Sales Processes - Do all of your prospects and clients have the same excellent experience with your company or does your team ‘wing it’ through a presentation?
Sales Program - Do you have a defined set of questions to qualify a prospect? Is your entire organization telling the same story about your company or is it a mixed message?
Marketplace Definition - Do you pursue anyone with a pulse or do you have a profile of what your best clients look like and where they are? Could your business grow if your marketplace was better defined?
Sales Personnel - Do you have a profiling method for hiring sales people or do you tend to employ people that end up costing your company a lot of time and money with little results?
Marketing Collateral - When was the last time you updated your marketing materials (including printed brochures, letters and website)? If you can’t remember, it’s time to make some changes here.
Marketing Campaigns - Do you have a system for regularly communicating valuable information with your database? Do you measure your response rates? What have you tried that has worked? What have you tried that didn’t work?
Networking - What results are you getting from the current networking activities you do? Are there other groups that could possibly make you more visible to the types of people who need to know about your business? Wouldn’t that be a better use of your valuable time?
So, if you’re truly honest about yourself and your business, where do you see some of your weaknesses in the list above? How much would it be worth to your business if you could measurably improve in those areas to increase your sales? Perhaps it’s worth a conversation with The Surfside Group to better understand how we can help turn your weaknesses into strengths without playing silly word games!