Capacity Building - Building A Foundation For Success

The entrepreneurial process can be demanding and sometimes make you question whether you can get it all done.  The journey to establishing a successful enterprise presents many entrepreneurs with the following question, "How do I create a blueprint for business and personal growth?"  Answering this question can sometimes feel daunting.  One way to ease the pressures of creating a successful enterprise is to lay a foundation for pursuing your dream or vision by focusing on capacity building.  Capacity building refers to those activities that improve either an organization's ability to achieve its mission or an individual’s ability to define and realize goals and do a job more effectively.  For organizations, capacity building can relate to almost any aspect of their work: improved governance, leadership, mission and strategy, administration (including human resources, financial management, and legal matters), program development, fundraising, marketing, income generation, etc.  For individuals, capacity building can relate to leadership development, advocacy skills, training/speaking abilities, technical skills, organizational skills, and other areas of personal and professional development.  Motivational guru, Anthony Robbins, has stated that "Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all our resources on mastering a single area of our lives." 

While tenacity and fortitude are key ingredients for most entrepreneurial success stories, the extent to which an aspiring entrepreneur  develops personal capacity, as well as the capacity of his or her enterprise, can make the difference between success and failure.  To overcome the obstacles you will inevitably face in building your enterprise, you have to have a plan in place for pushing your enterprise past the tough spots and taking your vision to the next level.  The likelihood of your success depends on having the necessary support systems in place to make your vision a reality.  There is no question that capacity building is an essential step in achieving success as entrepreneur in order to create wealth and build an institution.  Whatever your idea, remember great ideas need great people and organizations behind them.  

ROADBLOCK: Refining a Positioning Strategy

I had a roadblock that I summarized as follows:

I am interested in any thoughts you have on how to refine a positioning strategy/positioning statement/unique selling proposition and then turn it into an action plan for generating leads and converting those leads into customers. I guess I am stuck at the point of not knowing when to move on from drafts of those documents and then how to develop an action plan around it.

I understood my goal to be the following:

Goal: Determine my preferential difference in the marketplace for the products I sell and effectively communicate to prospects in order to convert them into long-term customers.

Here is a summary of feedback I received from reaching out to my network to answer this question.

Refinement:

• Probe ideal customers.  Ask questions of your target market to discover what the relevant differences are for them.
• Identify Benefits of product/service and incorporate into messaging. Sell BENEFITS (to user) not FEATURES (of your product/service). Benefits are sometimes rational (i.e. costs less, does more) or emotional (working with this firm is prestigious). 
• Customer Centered Messaging.  Determine the key messages of the product/service and make sure they are’customer value’ centric, not ‘product/you’ centric.
• Incorporate information used by prospect in their purchase decision process.  In your messaging use key terms that customer will be looking for.

Actions after Refinement:

• Make a list.  Develop a List of Prospects and track them via your pipeline through the use of a CRM tool. 
• Create a lead generation strategy. Social Media has shown itself to be effective for this, and which vehicle to use to create lead generation depends on where your target market is, and putting your product, your marketing materials and your sales team all there at the same time. Also, events and contests might be helpful. Events that involve the target market. By nature an event creates a crowd, expectation is already there, you are just capitalizing on it, so then it becomes whether or not how you introduce yourselves is effective. In the alternative, you could create some sort of contest affiliated with this event, a talk or seminar, with social media getting the word out about it in advance for the attention. Use each to create momentum for the Close. Test which ones work for your company.
• Creativity is needed in developing a lead generation strategy. In particular, the interpretation of your key messages, “translated” for your audience, in a way that will get the right kind of attention, distinguish your brand from the competition, and communicate compelling reasons for your audience to remember you. Creativity can be applied to refresh your key messages while continuing to reinforce them.
• Identify where prospects receive their information. The product itself can give you a lot of clues as to where you need to be “present” for any communication to be effective, which also involves the writing and designing of your communications, and any symbols that can express how you’ve positioned yourselves to be different. For specific individuals or businesses identified as prospects, run them on LinkedIn. Otherwise try to find a way to get introduced or introduce yourself.
• Messages. Burnish a small set of messages (3) and pound them relentlessly but when you can creatively – ie with a little bit of a twist, or a surprise or a grin. Repitition and consistency are the key. Three is a magic number, you’ll find that not even the biggest marketers can support more then that. Try to choose tactics that synergize and work together. Also, Need to get these messages into the minds of your sales team and make sure they are trained, positioned and ready to be in front of prospects.
• For professional services firms, awareness advertising can be thought of as the equivalent of yellow pages listings. You have to be there so that when your services are needed, your potential clients recall your ad, your firm and can easily find you. 
• Collaboration. Consider developing partnerships that allow you to tap into your audience or new audiences by leveraging different partner networks and providing new ways that you can provide value to new clients 
• Significance of Word of Mouth. When it comes to choosing tactics, attempt to drive to Word of Mouth, because personal recommendations, whether in the B2C or B2B space, are much more powerful than any ad or promotion can be. Choose tactics that have a proven track record in your field, which you can partially glean from what successful competitors are doing. But don’t be afraid to experiment with new ways of breaking through the clutter. Just don’t jeopardize your positioning by using tactics that undermine your desired brand image (i.e. handing out flyers on the street for a law firm). 
• Marketing messages are given out in all aspects of Businesses Operations. That is, look at all the different things that make up your brand. We hear a lot about consumer touchpoints but few realise any interaction between the brand and consumer or rather any ‘meeting’ between the consumer and the brand can be used to stand out or to leave a bad impression. Remember employees are also touchpoints and no fancy 360 campaign is complete if they are not motivated to market the brand.From the people you hire and who answers your phones, to your involvement in industry AND client groups, associations, conferences and issues all have a powerful impact on your marketing success. Then layer in the advertising, PR, and promotional activities. Investment in white papers which are then distributed to prospective clients or used to get meetings are used with a lot of success in professional services industries. Every marketing tactic used, needs to speak to your customers’ needs/wants, whether its a brochure, radio commercial or blog, and it needs to be consistent in look, tone, etc. 
• Need to Measure. Make sure you try to build some success metrics into your plan as well, so you can understand what is really working and change anything if it isn’t. This means building some kind of tracking mechanism into each activity, especially promotional offers. Adjustments will need to be made, because these are hardly “one time events” to be checked off then forgotten.  

If Execution is Not Achieving Results

• Check how your target market responds to the unique selling proposition. If it doesn’t work, avoid closing the mental conflict with excuses for WHY it doesn’t work. Simply change the proposition. 
• Try checking your niche market in other countries. If it doesn’t work in one culture – it may work in other cultures – and the world is big. You’ll be surprised.

______________________________

Key Considerations Summary

Source of Volume: What market is going to give you the the most volume and the most profitable return on your efforts?

Marketing Strategy:
a. Segmentation: For this product or service, how would you segment the market? What are the different kinds of consumers, and how are their needs or profiles different?
b. Targeting: How have your competitors already met the needs of the different consumers? Is there a consumer need not being met, and is there a particular type of consumer that is not being addressed? Where does your company fit into this mix and how can it distinguish itself according to unique offerings and/or unique needs or consumers being satisfied?
c. Positioning: What is that unique direction that your product/service will take the market and what makes it innovative? Which consumer segment will benefit, and how will you do it?

Execution (5 Ps):

a. Product: What exactly is your product (or service)? 

b. Price: What is the appropriate price for your product? (To find the most profitable price, you take into account the consumer’s willingness to pay and the potential volume that you could sell. (Price*Units Sold)-Cost = Profit. Is there a special discount or offer that would be appropriate to introduce your product to the market and build your base of customers? 

c. Promotion: How will you tell the consumer about your product? Advertisement, social networking, etc. 

d. Place: How will your product or service be distributed? Who will be selling the product to consumers? Where will these sales people be located?

e. Philanthropy: How will you communicate to your customer that you are generally interested in them or their community?  How do you demonstrate that you truly are a "corporate citizen"?

Human Capital needs to be Planned - Building A Foundation For Success

Noted recruitment and talent management expert, Allan Schweyer, has stated that "Human capital is a core corporate asset, just like financial and physical assets.  As such, it must be managed the way companies manage other assets.  This requires thinking strategically about how to invest in human capital, and figuring out how to optimize and measure its return." 

When laying a foundation for an entrepreneurial venture, planning is crucial.  Planning for every aspect of the future must be a priority.  An important part of planning for the future is developing a plan for full and effective utilization of human capital.   By human capital, I mean the employees, contractors, advisors, vendors, etc. who will help implement the mission of your enterprise.  Ms. Denise Rolark-Barnes, an owner of a Washington, D.C. based newspaper, recently shared with me that one of her greatest challenges as a business owner is getting and keeping great people.   Ms. Rolark-Barnes states, however, that she is not alone in this challenge.  According to her, all business owners will face this challenge at one point or another.  She advises that devising a plan for addressing this issue is something that all entrepreneurs should do to ensure the continuity and longevity of their business. 

Ms. Rolark-Barnes suggests addressing the issue of acquiring and retaining great employees in the following phases: Recruitment (create an attractive idea which will interest people in joining you); Training (mine potential by cultivating growth); Retention (“give 'em an excuse to stay”); Career Path (provide hope for upward mobility); Mentoring (encouraging model behavior); and Promotion (“move 'em along' and compensate accordingly”).  Ms. Rolark-Barnes’ work and forethought in this area have resulted in recent instances of highly talented individuals coming to her organization.  She believes these talented individuals will ensure that her company is well-positioned and ready for future shifts in her industry.

Planning for the human capital needs of your company is something all entrepreneurs must do.  Without a plan for attracting and retaining the best talent, you may find yourself unable to effectively utilize one of the most important resources your business will ever have.

Morning Clarity

I want to share a couple of simple ideas that have come to mind because of the activities over the last couple of weeks.  Each could later serve as an extended blog post.

• Implement Daily.  I was at a realtor association's banquet on Friday and had a great conversation with a realtor from Scottsdale, AZ.  While we shared a ton of ideas, this is what I will remember from her.  Those of us who lean towards being overly reflective, need to remind ourselves to put all of the great ideas we have in our head into action.
• Face Your Fears/Challenges Head On.  Name the issues and confront them 
• Get Organized. You might see some opportunity once you clear away the clutter
• Be a Guinea Pig.  I recently attended a Social media Bootcamp and out of that, two things happened that I couldn't have planned for. First, I received an interview on the spot that served as a blog post for one of the sponsors and I also struck up a relationship with another participant in which I am serving as a Guinea Pig for the early stages of an application he is building.
• Never too late to do the right thing.  If you know you should do something, DO IT!
• Be Thankful. Because bad can get worse.

Unleashing Creativity - Building A Foundation For Success

Creativity plays an important role in both the work of the artist and the entrepreneur. Like the artistic process, the entrepreneurial process requires creativity and fresh, uncluttered channels of thinking but sometimes you may wonder what to do when your creative energies seemed blocked or stymied.  A painter will stare vacantly at a blank canvas and a box full of paints with no vision while an entrepreneur may scratch his head struggling for the right approach to overcome a business hurdle. A creative block occurs when your mind is not functioning freely at its most optimal or efficient level.  You are no longer excited by your usual patterns of doing things and feel your talents are stale.

Despite having confidence in your abilities, you may get down when your ideas are not yielding the spectacular results for which you desire.  Mr. John Nelson, an entrepreneur and artist, has developed a method for overcoming his creative blocks.  When Mr. Nelson gets a creative block, he doesn't allow himself to succumb to the feelings of defeat that generally envelope one in an ebb of creative thought.  Mr. Nelson first gives his mind a rest, perhaps a vacation to Jamaica or a movie marathon weekend, something to distract his mind from obsessing over his "block" and inability to move forward.

Once Nelson feels rejuvenated, he then goes inside of himself and works his way out.  He accomplishes this by getting inside his mind and finding a challenge.  Mr. Nelson challenges himself by picking something hard to do.  Usually, he sketches a set of drawings and concepts related to human hands.  According to Mr. Nelson, drawing human hands is very difficult.  So, the challenge of accomplishing this task is his method of working his way out of a creative block by focusing his talents and energies on a challenging task.  As he struggles with a new set of challenges, he suddenly 're-discovers' his lost inspiration and finds the energy to get going again.   Mr. Nelson reminds us there is always something out there beckoning in the distance to help us work through our creative block to renewed energy and fresh thought (If you are at a loss, I would propose volunteering with a local non-profit or school to work with underprivileged children).  Sometimes we take for granted our talents, failing to nurture them. Consequently,  things become so automatic that our brains become lazy and stifled by routine. We are no longer challenged by our work, but  in the process of rising to a challenge, we can bring our minds back on course, unleash our creative thinking and reap even greater success and joy with a renewed perspective.  

A friend asked me a few questions about when and how to make the jump from a 9 to 5, to pursue an entrepreneurial idea.  I decided to deliver the answer to them as a videocast.  Let me know what you think.



What other topics would you have covered?

How should your Social Media strategy fit into your Marketing?

This is the first of a seven segment series.  I thought it was very good.  It will help you think about what you need to do prior to implementing your social media strategy.



Let me know how you would build on his ideas to produce more sales.  Conversion is key.