The Business Brickyard

We all have a lot of great ideas.

We all would like to get all of them done.

Business becomes a lot less fun to run when the idea/wish list gets loaded up but never gets done.

You and your business feel stuck.

I work with a lot of businesses in a whole variety of industries. What they have in common is that they always tell me a lot of new/innovative things they would like to do that are then followed by the infamous "If Only..."

If this feels familiar, here are a few things to think about:
The hardest part of getting a idea from your brain to a finished service/product is the first 5% and the last 5%.
Deciding to begin means you must decide what is the most important idea on the list, who is responsible for getting it done and when it needs to be done.

If it is taking too long to make the decision to take action then it gets tossed on the "If only..." pile.
In the middle, projects have a momentum that allows them to move forward well until they get to the last 5%. At the end, you need to push to break out of the day to day and really focus on reviewing the little details, fixing the things you could only see once it is built and make the final push to put it into use.

With that in mind.. Take out YOUR wish list or take some time to write one down. Rank the ideas in order of importance.
Start with the first one and make a decision about when it will get started and when it needs to be done.

Of course, that last 5% gets much easier if you change where you see the end of the project and remember to accelerate through the finish line.

Do you want to find new ways to to communicate with your customers and prospects?

How many businesses would answer yes to that question? My sense is that it would be a vast majority.

Businesses hesitate to try new ways to solve tough problems because they perceive the solutions too difficult to implement. Who has the time to devote to these new tools. Who indeed.

Rather than dismiss blogs, twitter, facebook, podcasts and video posts as something for geeks and early adopters why not embrace them simply as a new cool tool kit filled with ways to communicate with the people that pay your bills and those that may join them. Nothing more and nothing less.

Would it be a real bottom line benefit for your business to offer more ways for clients and prospects to get to know you?

If the answer is yes, then try out these new tools and see what happens. It is worth the time. It is that simple.

If the answer is no then just carry on.

We have been here before. Economic downturns are not new, or, for this one, even that old. And while what we now face may be more severe, the reactions and behaviors of businesses feel all too familiar. One of the most insidious by-products of times like these, after the waves of belt tightening and budget/staff cutting, are the long and painful late payments. When business slows, payments to vendors get stretched.  If this has not started happening to you yet, it soon will if you do not make it part of your focus to avoid it. Your clients/customers are under financial pressure.  They are at their limits with their banks.  Less money is coming in but the bills are still there to be paid.  You could be in danger of becoming your clients’ bank.  This is a big topic and is impacted by many areas of The Business Brickyard concepts (building relationships, saying no to clients, etc.). You can do everything else right but get this wrong and your business will grind to a halt.  So, let's focus on getting you paid faster. (As a primer, you may want to read this post "Pay Fast. Get Paid Faster." from my book).

Let's start with this truth: Sending your invoice and getting paid is as much a part of what you do as your product or service. And yet people pay almost no attention to the importance of invoicing and collecting payment. You work so hard to deliver your product or provide service(s) to your clients and in return for that you get paid. That last part is as much a part of the arrangement as any other. So why do your invoices go out late? (I cannot tell you how many times I have to request an invoice from a vendor)  Why do they look so awful?  Why do you make it hard for me to remember I got them? Why do you never follow up about payment until they are really old?

Let's change that. Here are 5 ways to get paid faster:

1. Forget regular mail.
When you mail an invoice you lose control over it.  You have no idea when it was received or if it was lost in a pile of papers somewhere.  All bad. I don't care if you send a PDF or a Word document, or use one of the many inexpensive online invoicing tools out there (Freshbooks or Blinksale are 2 online options that I know people are using and that will work well. Billings is a fantastic option for Mac users.), but send the invoice via email and ask your client/customer to confirm receipt. If you do not hear back in a day or two, follow up!

2. Make sure you understand their payment process.
Always remember that the payment process is as much about your client as it is about you. When we worked with GE, our invoices had to have 2 people sign off on them before being sent down to a national payment center in Florida.  If a number was missing on the invoice it was sent back and had to start over. You need to make sure you know where your invoice is going from the point at which it leaves your office to when you receive the check. Do you need to have a PO# on it?  Do you need to reference a quote number?  Who do you call when payment is late?  Often, if you do more of the work on the invoice then you can skip a few steps.  Years ago I visited a client to whom we used to send 30-40 invoices a week.  I saw a huge basket on a desk filled with our invoices. When I asked what they were all doing there my client said that when it fills up she sits down to log and pay them. I could see this wasn’t the most efficient process for her or for me. As a solution, my company programmed a summary invoice to look like the worksheet our client prepared by hand, then we delivered all of our invoices via FedEx once a week with the summary invoice on top. Our client paid the one summary invoice and we got paid 2-3 weeks faster than before.

3. Talk about the payment terms up front.
We get so excited about closing a sale or winning a client that we rarely if ever discuss the payment terms. If you try to take it on later you are already fighting a losing battle.  If they have a corporate rule for payment in 30 or 60 days then you need to know that.  You need to be able to explain to your client why payment on your terms is so important.  Why it lets you deliver X,Y and Z of what they want from you.  These tough times will push you to take on business regardless of the payment terms, but be warned that over time a client becomes less valuable if you are financing them.  Years ago, we created a simple spreadsheet that showed how much we earned from each client in the past year, how much time they took to pay us and what that cost us using the current interest rate.  Some of those spreadsheets were an eye opener to say the least. We had clients that were costing us 30% of our profit in interest.  We brought the spreadsheets to our clients and had a fair and honest business conversation.  It provoked discussions about why they paid slowly and we learned about things we could do that made our invoices easier to process.  It never turned into a negative.  Do you know how much each client costs you?  Said a different way, do you know what your cash flow would be if every client paid you promptly?

4. Make the invoice an experience not a pain.
You work so hard to deliver a great experience to your customers - don't you? Why stop when the product or service is delivered?  How can you make the delivery of your invoice a memorable event to the recipient? It is a chance to ask for feedback.  It is a chance to thank them for their business. 

2 suggestions:

a) Make your invoice look nice great! Your invoice represents your company. Does it do it well? Have the designer that designed your logo, web site or brochure design your invoice.  Make it clear and pleasant to read.  Forms do not have to be ugly.  Make it stand out from the others.

b) Add a message to the invoice that is memorable.  Maybe it is a funny quote or a fun way to present the total due. If you don't send many invoices then take the time to write a personal email with each one. If you send a ton, then this is impractical.  But you can create a cover email that briefly thanks them for entrusting the work to you.  Change your message every month or so.  Even a variety of facts about your company or staff works. Make it memorable and make it work with the personality of your business. I had one vendor who mentioned in their invoice when staff members had a birthday or had a baby, which drove home their family oriented nature.

5. Have a system to follow up.
So simple and so totally forgotten.  What do most people do?  At best, they send a statement of past due invoices in the mail.  FAIL!  If I am ignoring or stalling on paying your invoice do you think I will pay much attention to a statement? In the past I had many clients that would wait to pay until we called, but when we didn't call fast enough we were essentially allowing that behavior to continue. Shame on us.  It's not a game until you let it become one.   When you agree that payment is due X days from receipt of the invoice (and now you will create that agreement clearly) then you call or email them X days +1.  You made a deal with your client to perform for them and part of that deal is to get paid when agreed.  As long as you kept your part of the deal you should - and must - insist they keep their part.  If you want to deal with clients with integrity, then demand it of them and do not be shy about holding them to their word. Don’t make it more complex than that.  Every accounting system has a way to track past due invoices.  Use it, and, most importantly, act on it!  That is your money out there.  Remember, all truth is in the cash account, so get your money into it.

These are just 5 ideas and there could be 50.  If nothing else, I hope this article gets you thinking about invoicing and collecting payments as an integral part of your business process. Changing your invoicing process can improve the health of your business in good times and bad. Bring some focus to it before your clients force you to.

As always, I welcome and look forward to your thoughts, questions and insights in the comments.

This great post from Hugh about his current work and thinking about Dell Computers reminded me of the below post I wrote back in 2005. Despite their new challenges, I still find it relevant to their future (and every business).

The deeper I go into the development of my Brickyard ideas, the more valuable (and crucial) I believe it is to sustained bottom line growth of business.

I'll admit it is not nearly as sexy a strategy as a new technology product or an incredibly creative marketing initiative but... don't be fooled that focusing on your Brickyard won't equal cash.

In a recent Fortune Magazine article that profiled Dell Computers Inc. as the most admired company, the author questions Michael Dell about the perception that Dell is not an innovator (particularly vs. the deserved hype surrounding Apple and its latest innovations).

"I raise this question with Michael Dell and ask him why he even cares whether people think Dell innovates, "I don't care as much as I used to," he says. "It's complete nonsense though. I mean, come on, let's see... innovation: Business processes, supply chain, change in industry, customer value totally different, change the whole cycle in which technology is brought to market - well, there may be a few innovations in there."

Innovation is too closely linked to "cool" new products or services...the trendiest/edgiest thinking.

Continually improving your supply chain and manufacturing processes that sustain growth while your competitors stumble over themselves is not only innovative but turns those Brickyard bricks into the gold variety.

Don't focus on improving the expected parts of your deliverables at your own risk.

Just because I thought it was a fun video to watch. The ultimate sports fan experience... times 10.

The commentary/banter from Daman Wayans at the end is a total crack up.  

The bailout du jour is the US auto industry.  What is different, they want you think, is that it is not their fault.  Events conspired against them to put them where they are.  It is not that competitors are putting out better products that match what people want to buy. Of course not.  If they only had more time and more money everything would be ok.  Why could that possibly be true?  How many years have they fought against their competitors and lost? Can anyone remember a time in the last 20 years when US automobiles (other than pick up trucks) were deeply desired by the public?

A guest on CNBC this week said the most basic statement that sums it all up:  "First they need to make cars that people want to buy."

Is that not their perfect basic? 

Thomas Friedman hits the ball out of the park in his op-ed piece this morning:

"Last September, I was in a hotel room watching CNBC early one morning. They were interviewing Bob Nardelli, the C.E.O. of Chrysler, and he was explaining why the auto industry, at that time, needed $25 billion in loan guarantees. It wasn’t a bailout, he said. It was a way to enable the car companies to retool for innovation. I could not help but shout back at the TV screen: “We have to subsidize Detroit so that it will innovate? What business were you people in other than innovation?” If we give you another $25 billion, will you also do accounting"

Every automaker is feeling the pain as the world economy hits the brakes to some degree. But they all did not catch this particular cold because the economy is simply accelerating things to where the US auto industry was headed anyway.

It does look like the Government will bail them out in some way.  I imagine they will do it in a way that forces them to make changes that they think are the answer.  And so they will sell their souls, make decisions based on what, essentially, their new "bank" tells them to do and trudge along without any real purpose.  That may be the biggest shame of it all.

Related post: Fred Wilson has some great thoughts on this topic as well in this post: "Bustup Not Bailout".

"Scale and complexity is the enemy of innovation and what ails most of the large businesses in this country, auto in particular, is a structural lack of innovation in the industry architecture."

This opinion piece by David Brooks is a worthy addition to this post:

If ever the market has rendered a just verdict, it is the one rendered on G.M. and Chrysler. These companies are not innocent victims of this crisis. To read the expert literature on these companies is to read a long litany of miscalculation. Some experts mention the management blunders, some the union contracts and the legacy costs, some the years of poor car design and some the entrenched corporate cultures.

There seems to be no one who believes the companies are viable without radical change. A federal cash infusion will not infuse wisdom into management. It will not reduce labor costs. It will not attract talented new employees. As Megan McArdle of The Atlantic wittily put it, “Working for the Big Three magically combines vast corporate bureaucracy and job insecurity in one completely unattractive package.”

Henry Kissinger once said that "What will come out eventually must come out immediately," he added... "The implication being, it's the striptease that kills you."
Or as they say in the UK:

"The Truth Will Out."

People can sense when they are not getting the real truth. They may nod their head, but something is not right in their gut.

When you speak from truth... a connection is made.
From trust comes not only new clients but... lasting relationships.

Truth = Power = Cash

(Actual a mash up of marketing copy from the various US cellular carriers)

Find a ring tone that gets noticed—or one that's discreet. Select a screensaver with some pizzazz. Or even customize with your own photos. Send and receive photos, video, and voice messages from your phone. Bring Web sites, e-mail, messaging, downloads, and more to your wireless phone. Action, arcade, sports, casino—we've got the game for you. With full-color animation and robust sound effects, each game delivers fun. Expense Tracker, Mileage Tracker, Tele Atlas Traffic, and My-Cast® Weather, your wireless phone becomes a personal assistant, a researcher, a problem solver, a productivity manager, and more. Watch live TV on the go with full motion video. Interesting things happen when you least expect them. Now you can capture these unexpected moments with 15–second video clips that you can see and hear! Reflect your interests with thousands of pictures of your favorite TV characters, sports teams, celebrities, urban artwork, and more. Get the genuine article. With these short clips of actual artist recordings, it's like your favorite artists are announcing your calls! Why settle for the expected? You can choose from sound effects, celebrity voices, and more so you and your friends can enjoy a wireless phone that talks—or quacks Did you know your phone is a mobile arcade? Your world doesn't stop when you're out in it. So use the mobile Web to stay on top of the things that matter to you—news, weather, sports, and more from leading provides like CNN and ESPN.

Here is my problem: My cell phone cuts off in the middle of calls.. all the time.

I bought the phone so I make and receive phone calls. When the calls drop out you add stress to me, your paying customer. If you are selling a phone that cannot do that first basic, please stop all the rest until you do.

A major personal and professional goal of mine for 2009 is to increase the amount of public speaking I do. The current economic environment cries out for a return to business basics that have always worked and always will. Along with giving my book away for free, I can not think of a better way to spread the word and make an impact on the future of businesses that want and need a change in strategy.

You can learn more about my speaking work here.  If you are looking for a speaker for your next event, company off-site or want a focused Business Brickyard workshop for your executive team....  Please contact me.

Here is a little video I put together to showcase some of my speaking work:

We all seek to find powerful ways to differentiate our companies. We search for new ways to market, new strategies and the big new idea that will give power to our claim that our business is truly unique.

We may be missing the most important road block...Working off of a pre-determined "Bucket" of the industry you are in.

If you start off by saying you are a consulting firm, a travel agent, an accounting firm or an advertising agency then you are stuck in the constraints of what history has constructed those words mean to people. The road is then more difficult as you try to tell the story of why you are different than all of the rest.

Why not first try to create an entirely new bucket based on the problem you are solving, your purpose or the need you are trying to fill.

Consider this quote from Scott Goodson, chief creative officer of Strawberry Frog, a new breed of (Bucket omitted), talking about what they can do:

"..they are more like political movements for clients and their products"

Even the author of the article (about a new breed of ad agencies) immediately moves to place Mr. Goodson back into a bucket with this statement "Some of what Goodman says is hype - he's and adman, for goodness' sake"

Perhaps it is hype or "marketing speak" but I would rather someone tell me that they are going to turn my business into a political movement than they are going to manage my ad campaign (Better still if they show how their unique thinking will make it happen). Ad agencies conjure up my own ideas about what I can expect and why I should be skeptical. The longer you can keep me from connecting your business to my pre-conceived beliefs the better chance you have of helping me understand how you want to help me vs how I believe you cannot.

If someone is presenting their company to you in a way that is uncomfortable because it does not fit into an easy "frame" that you can relate to, try to live with the discomfort a bit and focus on what they are saying first. You won't solve complex problems in fresh new ways by saying.. "We need to hire an __________."

Think about what you are actually delivering for your customers/clients and focus the description of what you do around it.