Insight from the Dragon's Den

At the end of recent event I attended, one of dragons from dragon's den said a few words. Here are some of the pointers he provided the audience that I felt were worth making you aware of:

• You need to take the time to get a clear view of the real challenges in your business. Taking the time out is crucial.  In our view most people don't do their best thinking in a crisis.  The once popular strategic planning get-aways, may seem like a bit of a luxury in today's climate, but taking time out to revisit where you are going and how you are going to get there is more imporant than ever.

• Read e-myth revisited, you have to become process driven to grow your business.  In too many cases the business depends on the owner, or a few others, rather than a repeatable process.   I would suggest you also need to adopt a well thought through sales process that is reviewed and improved on an ongoing basis. I have read e-myth twice it’s a great read.
  

• Entrepreneur’s only limitations are themselves. We all need mentors and coaches. This I would add is also true for sales managers and sales people.  We have to be prepared to look outside for a detached and objective view of our performance and objectives.

• Business owners and entrepreneur need to become more confident in selling the business and selling themselves.  We would add that it understated, as opposed to brash confidence is required.

• Fast growing businesses need to move off the island of Ireland quickly.  Well, nothing has changed there and in fact Adopting a growth plan using tools and techniques like Mastering the Rockefeller habits will help.

John O’Gorman - sales activity, sales growth, sales insights