Category: VALCORT DNA

How clear customer focus can prevent a crash landing

Valcort 35 Keys to Business Growth: #15  Have a clear, customer-focused approach to your business that drives important business decisions. “Six Alpha Romeo, clear to land.” An F-16 fighter pilot recently told me that they are routinely trained and warned to keep their head up and eyes outside the cockpit.  Without...

Value Matters. Measure It.

Valcort 35 Keys to Business Growth: #14. Consistently measure all marketing and sales activities and your progress toward achieving your vision, and communicate the results with the company regularly. How would you define personal success? What will make your life a success? These are great questions to ask yourself. Perhaps it’s...

Building trust-oriented business relationships at every point of contact

Valcort 35 Keys to Business Growth.  #13 - Identify every point of contact with your customers.  Assure that every employee that has personal contact with a customer or can influence a customer relationship is trained and equipped to engage them in a trust-oriented relationship with your company. Frequently I drive...

Executing mind-shaping media campaigns

Last winter was pretty rough in many areas of the country, including here in the upper Midwest. So when this winter started early and came on with a vengeance in recent weeks, memories of last year’s record breaking snowfall had me thinking about the wisdom of a snow blower. That was no...

Wings, beer, sports and the art of perfecting your value proposition

Valcort 35 Keys to Business Growth:  #11  Have a true, simple and clearly worded statement to describe your unique and proven value to customers.  A recent transplant to the Chicago area, I’ve found the city to be hard working, tough and matter-of-fact.  The city’s sports culture shares those characteristics, fielding...

Increasing your margin and moving pianos

Valcort 35 Keys to Business Growth: #10 Understand why customers value your products and services as well as your competitors’ products and services, and what drives their choice. When she answered she was pleasant, helpful and engaging. I needed a good quality mover that could protect my sleek black grand piano...

For product success, make what people want

Valcort 35 Keys to Business Growth: #9 Develop only products and services that are high priorities for current and future customers. There are a lot of candidates for the worst product launch in American history. Rejection of the heavily promoted but underwhelming Edsel in 1957 made the name of the...

Re-inventing the mission statement.

[Valcort 35 Keys to Business Growth: #8: Have a mission statement that is easy to understand with clear benefits for employees, customers and vendors.] It’s time to re-invent the mission statement. A mission statement clarifies purpose. It describes what an organization does, defines the core activity and sets the boundaries...

Do You See a Trend?

Valcort 35 Keys to Business Growth:  # 7  Have a process to identify industry trends that will impact a customer’s opinion of you.  Wayne Gretzky was the greatest ice hockey player of all time not only because of his physical skills, but because he consistently saw where the play was...

An Earful of Change

Valcort 35 Keys to Business Growth:  #6  When you talk with your customer, listen carefully, capturing their comments and any information that helps you understand their buying habits and unmet needs. “WHY won’t you JUST LISTEN TO ME!” she said in a tense, high pitched voice. And with that outburst from the...