How to Build an Exceptional Business

Are you looking to build an exceptional business?  From the book “What Clients Love: A Field Guide to Growing Your Business” by Harry Beckwith, here is a checklist of questions you need to ask from conceptualizing your business to servicing your customers.

First Principle

• What really matters to us?
• Where do we want to be in five years?
• Never mind what we have done or others have done: What is possible?
• What would clients think was remarkable?
• If we were starting from scratch today, what would we do differently?
• If we were competing against us, where would we attack us?

Adding Deeper Insight

• Which 10 or 12 clients, friends, industry insiders or other individuals can give us the most insight about improving our business?

Getting to the White Hot Center

• Who makes up the White Hot Center of our industry?
• Which members do we have contact with? Which do we not?
• What should we do to increase our influence with these people?

Getting the Key Clients

• What 3-4 prospective and acquirable clients would have the most long-term impact on our business – as uniquely strong references?
• How can we begin to convert them into clients?

Attacking our Industry’s Weakness

• What is the greatest flaw in our industry, in the perception of prospects and clients?
• What stereotype do outsiders have of people in our business?

Our Brand

• Is our brand unique?
• Is it vivid?
• Is it simple?
• Does it communicate a clear and powerful message, in the way we most want and need to communicate?
• Is it inviting?

Our Name

• Is our name distinctive?
• Is it memorable?
• Is it brief enough to be processed and remembered?
• Does it express or imply an important message?
• Does the value and equity of our current name outweigh the value of changing it to a more powerful and useful name?
• Can it be pronounced easily, even musically?
• Will most people have to ask how to spell it? If so, can you easily explain how to spell it?
• Is it short?
• Does it have the unique traits to make it memorable – is it unique, sensory, and outstanding?
• Is it interesting? Does it have “story value”?
• Is it authentic? Is it who we really are?
• Can our employees say the name proudly?
• Does it set the right tone?
• Is it different enough from competitors’ names?
• Is it acceptable to virtually every important prospect?
• Does it make some people uneasy?
• Is it rich with meaning? Does it imply more than one positive message?

Our Price

• What does our price communicate about the value of our work?
• Is our pricing absolutely clear?
• Is it so simple a prospect understands it immediately?

Our Package: The Visual Audit

Look at every point where our prospects come into contact with us – from business cards and signage to attire and envelopes:

• Does each contact make a strong impression?
• Does each say, “This firm is special”?
• Does each contact clearly convey a sense of quality and professionalism?
• Are the messages at each point consistent with each other?

Our Communications

• Are our messages brief and to the point?
• Does every word count – or are there unnecessary and wasted words?
• Do we immediately convey our point of difference?
• Do we clearly and convincingly communicate the distinctive benefit of working with us?
• Do we provide strong proof for each of our claims?
• If the person never reads of a word of the message, does the communication still convey a sense of quality?
• Does the reader feel engaged by the copy? Does it speak to him and his wants and needs – or do we talk too much about ourselves?

Our Presentations

• Do our images, by themselves, convey an unmistakable sense of quality and professionalism?
• Is each slide necessary? Does each one deliver its message better than words alone can?
• Are slides kept to a minimum, so that our audience will focus on our people rather than on our slides?
• Does each image convey no more than three succinct points?
• Can any point be made in half as many words?
• Are the images interesting yet appropriate?
• Are the words engaging and interesting?
• Is our presentation about the client and his needs – or is it about us?
• Is the presentation compelling without being immodest?
• Is our presentation human, warm, inviting and personal? Are there moments where it is too institutional?
• Are our testimonials powerful and believable?
•  Do we use stories to make our message clearer and more interesting?

Our Service

• Are 20 percent of our clients thrilled with us?
• Are all but 10 percent of our clients very pleased with us, and what do we do for them?
• Is our receptionist warm, welcoming and optimistic?
• Do we return calls or follow-up on contacts in near real time?
• Do we follow-up every contact with a prospect or client within 24 hours?
• Do we have a regular and closely followed program for thanking clients and prospects at least once a year?
• Are we doing something special for our loyal clients at least once a year?
• Do each of our special clients clearly know they are special to us?
• When we make a promise to a client, do we make sure to put it in writing so we will know what we have promised and what to do – and they will know exactly what to expect from us, and when?

 
Recommended Books on How to Build an Exceptional Business:

• What the Best CEOs Know: 7 Exceptional Leaders and Their Lessons for Transforming Any Business
• Marketbusters: 40 Strategic Moves That Drive Exceptional Business Growth
• Just Run It! Running an Exceptional Business Is Easier Than You Think
• Think Inside The Box: Discover the exceptional business inside your organization
• The Three Rules: How Exceptional Companies Think