When I started out in the world of business coaching, understanding the importance of a strong company culture did not come easily. I had always considered this aspect of building a business to be rather “fluffy” and certainly not something worth spending any time on. However, over the years, having worked with numerous businesses, I have come to learn that without a strong culture that fits with the business values and ethics of the business owner, it will be nigh on impossible to build a business that can work without you.

This recently came home to me particularly graphically, with a small family run café, which had gradually regressed over the years. The problems with the staff had become more and more pronounced, with none of the staff turning up on time, prepared to take responsibility or treat each other or the owners with respect. Naturally enough the quality of the food had dropped, the service levels were poor and consequently many of their customers had gone elsewhere.

As it happened, most of the staff who were there when I first started with the owners, quickly realised I was on to them, and left. Far from seeing this as a negative, this has given us the chance to re-hire a whole new set of staff, and the atmosphere and results have immediately been positive. However, the importance of imposing a new culture is huge. They need to get all the new staff to sign up to all the things that they see as important, such as timelines, cleanliness, attitude, honesty and respect. If they do that now, and make this way of behaving the “norm”, they will have a business which will grow, and one for which they can be proud. They will no longer have to watch over every aspect of the

When did you last analyse your sales process?

How are sales going at the moment? If you have a sales force are they all performing equally well, or are some better than others? If things are not going that well, have you put it down to the current economic climate, or might it be worth having a long hard look at your sales process and then decide what you could do to improve it.

Of course there is an art/skill to selling, and some are most definitely better at it than others, but when needs must, it is essential that you give yourself and your sales force the best chance that they can get. So start by analysing your sales process in detail, and be brutally honest with yourself. Ask where the bottlenecks are appearing on your process, and then identify ways of changing and improving these.

Remember the sales process is not just when you are sitting in front of your “lead”, it’s all the pre-sales meeting contacts, and indeed your after sales service (although the after sales is more about getting referrals and repeat business). You can achieve a lot before you even see your lead, by preparing them for what will happen when you see them, and let them know that you will be asking for the order when you are there. Make sure all the decision makers will be present, and of course turn up on time, looking smart, confident and fully prepared.

I recently spent a morning preparing a client for his first sales meeting with a new client that afternoon. We practiced scripts, and covered all aspects that we could think of. So was it worth it, well he got the business, and at a considerable premium above which others had previously been selling at.

So don’t blame the economic climate if you aren’t getting sales. Look at your process, look at yourself, and make changes to make it work.

I am sure you will know what I’m talking about, when I mention the little background/subliminal signs which are often a fore-runner of something much bigger. The employee who starts to turn up 5 minutes the 10 minutes late. The amounts of rework going up by 0.5%. The slowing of orders from a big account. Good customers being slow to return a call. While these issues are all still small and seemingly insignificant, we tend to push them metaphorically under the carpet, and hope they will go away, but in our heart of hearts we know that these are probably the warning signs of far worse to come.

This really came home to me last Saturday, having watched what I would laughingly call the England Rugby team, capitulate in a woeful display to the French in the quarter final of the World Cup. They couldn’t tackle, they couldn’t pass, they couldn’t catch, and worst of all, they didn’t appear to have the fight or will to win. But should we really have been surprised? In my opinion “no”. The warning signs have been there at least since the last World Cup, and the odd good win has papered over the cracks. This was a disaster waiting to happen, and there now needs to be wholesale changes throughout the whole organisation, from the top management, to the players, to the back-room staff, but more fundamentally to the culture and the way things are done. Clive Woodward introduced a great culture, and subsequently a winning team back in 2003, but standards have slipped badly since he left, and it is easy to see by the off-pitch antics, the carefree attitude and the general lack of discipline, that this is a recipe for disaster

So don’t ignore the little taps on the shoulder, the little worry that crosses your mind, or the gut feeling of concern. If these happen, analyse them properly, understand what has alerted you to the potential problem, and then do something positive about it.

I recently wrote a blog about people who live above or below the line, principally citing the difference in attitude between badly wounded ex-servicemen who were determined to do something for others, and make something of their lives, compared to the rioters who just expect something for nothing, and essentially wallow in what they would consider misfortune.

To take this theme a bit further, I have recently been working with a lovely couple, who started out in their business with high hopes and lots of positive dreams, but as they have lurched from one disaster to another, they have gradually lost faith in their ability to achieve things, and are now almost accepting that they are victims who always have only bad luck. The point is, the more things seem to go against them, they become more susceptible to new problems, and in a way, they are waiting for the knockout punch, that will finally seal their fate.

Everyone has a limit as to how much they can take, but the more you take the attitude that I will become a victor, and stay above the line dictating where my business and future will go, the more likelihood there is of resisting and keeping the bad things at bay. The trouble is once you start to accept that “bad luck” is the norm, you stop taking the actions which will prevent further “bad luck” from happening, then you invite all the potential problems to manifest themselves on you.

The next few months are likely to be tricky. The question is “Are you preparing to keep on fighting?” and make good things happen, or lie back and wait for the inevitable.