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Apple Inc. is probably one of the best examples in our corporate world where intrapreneurship is essential to the market share and sustainability of a company. Shareholders and the public alike have been trained to hype up in anticipation for whatever new product Apple will come up with each year. When they hit their mark, their shares soar. When their product is not innovative enough, down they go. Steve Jobs cannot create all of the ideas, so it is up to the rest to be innovative and intrapreneurial.
For years 3M, Inc. has seen the value in encouraging their employees to think outside the box. Probably the greatest idea to come from one of their employees is Post-It Notes. An employee started putting double sided tape on the back of pieces of paper and stacking them on top of each other. When this idea was brought up to management, the birth of the Post-It Note occurred. From then on, employees where granted 15 minutes of every hour to stop their normal work hour and think of ideas in creative ways.
For those who are starving and want to feed their entrepreneurial side, do not forget the company you are working for wants to hear your ideas. Who knows, you may invent the next Post-It Note idea.
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For example, companies are trying desperately to save every penny they can and are looking to their vendors for savings. This makes now a perfect time to become a reseller of credit card processing. This creates a residual income for your business, a stronger relationship with your customer and it makes you the hero because you saved your client money. As the economy turns back around and the pendulum swings the other way, your client will more than likely process more transactions and you will reap the benefits.
Money cannot get much cheaper. With the Federal funds rate effectively at zero, opportunities in real estate, as another example, can create another source of cash flow for your business. Real estate has decreased in value over the last 4 years, making now a great time to buy an investment property. With tighter mortgage regulations, fewer people are able to buy homes, making the rental market strong. The recipe for success in this instance: discounted property, very low vacancy rates, cheap money and great cash flow.
Now is the time to act on the words Warren Buffet lives by: "Be greedy when others are fearful, be fearful when others are greedy." Now is not the time to go into seclusion and weather the storm. Now is the time to take advantage of the opportunities that are present in the world today. The opportunities we have today will become the businesses for some tomorrow. You need to make the decision whether you will sit back and watch the opportunities pass or seize the opportunity and grow your business.
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Case and point, Lance Armstrong. Lance has spoken on numerous occasions on why he has not only been successful in winning seven Tour De France´s, but also how he was able to beat testicular, stomach, lung and brain cancer. He attributes it to assembling the best team possible to achieve his goals. When he set his sites on winning the Tour De France he gathered the best trainers, the best engineers, and the best cyclist team. When he received word that he had cancer, he collected the best surgeons, the best doctors, the best nurses and the best hospitals in an effort to survive. Similar amazing team player assembling was done when he created his cancer foundation: the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LiveStrong).
It goes without question that good teamwork is needed in order to achieve your goals. More importantly, however, and often times overlooked, is the importance of having the best players on your team.
For example, maybe a salesperson needs to make 200 cold calls to get 5 who have interest. Of those 5, one sale is made. This gives you a 1:5:200 ratio of sales to warm leads to cold leads. It is very inefficient, albeit does make sales. Similarly, a sales person may need to call 10 current customers for a referral or cross-sell opportunity, get 5 who have interest and make one sale. This gives a ratio of 1:5:10. It is much more efficient although a current customer list is not as limitless as your cold call list may be. Creating a balance of sales techniques while maximizing efficiency is your best strategy. It is no doubt that sales is about numbers. The question is: which numbers game are you playing?
Entrepreneurship versus Intrapreneurship
by Matt Hauff (National Sales Rep.), Apr. 19, 2010 Most everyone either knows an entrepreneur (or one who claims to be) or at least could give a definition of one. My guess is, however, that most have never heard of an intrapreneur; much less know someone who has the title's traits. An intrapreneur is simply one who exhibits an entrepreneur's behavior while inside a corporation. Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to be out on your own, creating the next widget in your garage to be an entrepreneur. Corporations live and starve for new and innovative ideas and ways to improve their company. Nearly all company's methods of operation or products become dated and stale over time. Innovation from the inside is imperative.Apple Inc. is probably one of the best examples in our corporate world where intrapreneurship is essential to the market share and sustainability of a company. Shareholders and the public alike have been trained to hype up in anticipation for whatever new product Apple will come up with each year. When they hit their mark, their shares soar. When their product is not innovative enough, down they go. Steve Jobs cannot create all of the ideas, so it is up to the rest to be innovative and intrapreneurial.
For years 3M, Inc. has seen the value in encouraging their employees to think outside the box. Probably the greatest idea to come from one of their employees is Post-It Notes. An employee started putting double sided tape on the back of pieces of paper and stacking them on top of each other. When this idea was brought up to management, the birth of the Post-It Note occurred. From then on, employees where granted 15 minutes of every hour to stop their normal work hour and think of ideas in creative ways.
For those who are starving and want to feed their entrepreneurial side, do not forget the company you are working for wants to hear your ideas. Who knows, you may invent the next Post-It Note idea.
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It's Time to Evolve.
by Matt Hauff (National Sales Rep.), Feb. 10, 2010 With the current state of our economy, companies must make decisions now that will affect their businesses for years to come. Companies can decide to change nothing or very little and try to ride out the storm or they can choose to change their business tactics. No matter the state of the economy, there are always ways to execute a profitable business model; you just need to think outside the box.For example, companies are trying desperately to save every penny they can and are looking to their vendors for savings. This makes now a perfect time to become a reseller of credit card processing. This creates a residual income for your business, a stronger relationship with your customer and it makes you the hero because you saved your client money. As the economy turns back around and the pendulum swings the other way, your client will more than likely process more transactions and you will reap the benefits.
Money cannot get much cheaper. With the Federal funds rate effectively at zero, opportunities in real estate, as another example, can create another source of cash flow for your business. Real estate has decreased in value over the last 4 years, making now a great time to buy an investment property. With tighter mortgage regulations, fewer people are able to buy homes, making the rental market strong. The recipe for success in this instance: discounted property, very low vacancy rates, cheap money and great cash flow.
Now is the time to act on the words Warren Buffet lives by: "Be greedy when others are fearful, be fearful when others are greedy." Now is not the time to go into seclusion and weather the storm. Now is the time to take advantage of the opportunities that are present in the world today. The opportunities we have today will become the businesses for some tomorrow. You need to make the decision whether you will sit back and watch the opportunities pass or seize the opportunity and grow your business.
skip to next post
Don´t confuse good teamwork for good team players.
by Matt Hauff (National Sales Rep.), Nov. 30, 2009 The importance of team work is often stressed in not only the work environment, but also in our everyday lives. There is no question that the better the teamwork, the higher probability of obtaining the goal. The outcome of good delegation and diligence as a team, however, will only go so far. You need the best players on your team to achieve the best result. You can have the best teamwork, but if you do not have the right players, your outcome may be less than desirable.Case and point, Lance Armstrong. Lance has spoken on numerous occasions on why he has not only been successful in winning seven Tour De France´s, but also how he was able to beat testicular, stomach, lung and brain cancer. He attributes it to assembling the best team possible to achieve his goals. When he set his sites on winning the Tour De France he gathered the best trainers, the best engineers, and the best cyclist team. When he received word that he had cancer, he collected the best surgeons, the best doctors, the best nurses and the best hospitals in an effort to survive. Similar amazing team player assembling was done when he created his cancer foundation: the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LiveStrong).
It goes without question that good teamwork is needed in order to achieve your goals. More importantly, however, and often times overlooked, is the importance of having the best players on your team.
Sales is about numbers, maybe.
by Matt Hauff (National Sales Rep.), Sept. 7, 2009 With our national business community in its current state, businesses are asking the age old question more than ever: how can we drive more sales? Some would react by stating it is a numbers game and the more phone calls, the more mailers, the more emails I send, the more likely I am to get a sale. While that statement is theoretically true, there are more important numbers that should be concentrated on than those derived by the persistent salesperson.For example, maybe a salesperson needs to make 200 cold calls to get 5 who have interest. Of those 5, one sale is made. This gives you a 1:5:200 ratio of sales to warm leads to cold leads. It is very inefficient, albeit does make sales. Similarly, a sales person may need to call 10 current customers for a referral or cross-sell opportunity, get 5 who have interest and make one sale. This gives a ratio of 1:5:10. It is much more efficient although a current customer list is not as limitless as your cold call list may be. Creating a balance of sales techniques while maximizing efficiency is your best strategy. It is no doubt that sales is about numbers. The question is: which numbers game are you playing?