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Management Tools for Parking Area Sweeping |
Evaluating Your Business Methods Key to Maximizing Growth, ProfitBy Ranger Kidwell-Ross, editor of World Sweeper magazine. 
Kraig Kramers' no-nonsese techniques for improving business operations and forecasting were acclaimed by all of his seminar attendees at National Pavement Expo 2011. Many thanks to the TYMCO Sweeper Company for sponsoring this seminar.Kramers, who has been the CEO of 8 different companies, offered a wealth of information applicable to anyone who runs a business. During his presentation, the dynamic Kramers offered a number of proven techniques for improving business forecasting, sales and management. These were taken from what he calls his "CEO Toolkit." The good news is a wide variety of the materials Kramers discusses in his interview are available at his website, www.CEOTools.com. One of the most significant exercises you can do for your company's business health is to undertake an evaluation process of how you operate it. To do this, Kramers suggests that you go through all aspects of your business operations, step-by-step. "Look at your company like a customer does,Ó says Kramer. ÒGo through the exact process that a prospect or a customer would go through in doing business with you, or in trying to do so. This will allow you to see if there are any ways to streamline that process, or to make it easier for someone to do business with you. "For example, at one of my seminars and attendees spoke up and said they were running their business completely different than their competitors. 'We get our leads and do most all of our business on the Internet,' he said. 'Our competitors still have sales teams who call on customers, trying to find a mutually good time to see them and discuss what the different options are. "'By contrast, we have learned that the same customers would actually like to learn about what we offer online, at their own convenience and scheduling. By doing the research needed to find out what our customers actually wanted, We are taking market share away from our competitors like there's no tomorrow and, in addition, our cost base is less because we're using the Internet.' "The point here is not that they are using the Internet; the point is, they are doing what their customers want them to be doing, which happens to involve a move to the Internet." as an example of how far to take your thinking along these lines, Kramers cites an example of a tire company that determined which days it was busiest, and then was open on those days. "The company was called 'Four Day Tire,' he says, Òand they did well because they were open when their customers wanted them to be and were able to offer a four-day week to their employees. That's a great example of win-win." While you are at it, Kramers suggests that you do the same type of evaluation and analysis for your employees. "Keep in mind,Ó he says, Òthat your employees probably spend more time at work than anywhere else during their waking hours. Make sure your business is being operated in such a way as to maximize the value your employees are receiving by working there. "My fundamental belief is that it is your employees, and their interactions with each other and with your customers, that make a real difference in a company. In the printing company that I was the CEO in we always said that the salesperson makes the first sale and the support people in the plant make the next and any additional sales. This may mean they are personable, but it always means that they are technically competent, as well. "Take steps to align your employees. Make a one-page business plan that talks about how you deal with employees, how you treat them. If you make it well, you could even share with your customers. Share the goals of the company and how you want to be operating." Kramers also discusses the value of financial analysis, not just profit and loss but also your balance sheet and cash flow. The latter has become absolutely critical in this recession recovery. "Even though the economists are saying its going to get better," Kramers says, "the difficult business climate is going to last at least another two years, and perhaps four or five. You need to put a heavy emphasis on cash flow management."
In the following 28-minute audio, which was recorded after his 2011 NPE seminar, Kramers offers an more details on all that you read above, plus more. You are highly encouraged to listen to the audio interview. Note: The audio will play without downloading any files onto your computer. If you hear the interview at 'chipmunk speed,' you will need to download the latest version of Adobe's free Flash player.
Note: To play the interview, click this link or on the small triangle inside the circle you see to the left. If you have any trouble accessing this audio, please let us know. If you learned from this article, you will want to check out the other articles by Kramers we have at WorldSweeper.com:
This article was added to WorldSweeper.com in February, 2010. |
 © 2010
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Parking Area Sweeping Contents
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In addition, Kramers discussed the enormous advantages business owners can receive by implementing a 12-month or 52-week trailing average system for tracking their company. This can be done for a wide variety of topics, from financial information to sweeper repairs to employee productivity. There are a number of tools that provide assistance in this regard on Kramer's website. Some are low-cost and some are no-cost; all are very well done and quite cost-effective.