Whoa! Are
we on the Titanic?
Issue 1:
Assess where you are?
Did you just run out of money (after a
growth spurt)? So, your deliveries had fallen behind? Is your
customer experience a disaster? Have your employees (and leaders)
exceeded their Peter Principle?
Potential solutions: Immediately
assess where your are falling short- inbound marketing? Delivery?
Quality? Competition? Whatever it is, develop concrete steps
to change each fault- immediately. Communicate these changes to your
customers. Stop looking at the stagnant sales pattern as a problem.
Issue 2: Investors are becoming anxious
Our investors planned to cash out this coming year.
They are not happy that we have not grown the business, which means their
multiples are not being met. They may even decide to get rid of us and
bring in other folks who can start growing the business.
Potential Solutions: Bring in a
temporary CFO, COO, or CEO, to train your existing people and, in the interim,
get your sales volume up. Examine your marketing efforts to see if you are
reaching your intended audience.
Issue 3: Competition
We did not expect to have these competitors so soon.
Now, instead of cherry picking the best customers, we must fight for each sales
opportunity.
Potential Solutions: Perform a a
head-to-head comparison to your competitors- not just the product, the entire
experience. Determine which (or how many) items need improvement.
Prepare a concrete plan to change these facts - now.
