Guest story with Mike Brunel
How did we take a small Wellington based radio sales consultancy business and turn it into a global success story servicing 400 worldwide markets and selling to 320,000 people? It all started with a Dictaphone. In the early days we worked out that we could show radio media companies how to move advertisers from a small two week campaign into a 52 week commitment. I watched my business partner in action and realised that he always did the same thing. He said the same words, made the same offers and got the same results. I spent a week watching him, recording him and taking notes. I created a sales system around what we did, with manuals clearly outlining every single word and action taken. We then packaged up the system and began selling it to other media companies… all around the world. In effect we turned a commodity into a system. Now my business partners and I live in Wellington, our CEO is in Atlanta and we have offices in four different countries… all doing things exactly the way we would.
And so my tip for business owners who want to decrease reliance on you and create a leveraged business is to take time to document exactly what you do. Use the microphone app on your iphone/android and record yourself as you go about your day… every single little thing that you do and say. Then get it transcribed and turn it into a manual… paper or computer based, whatever works for you. It may seem laborious – and it is – but this is ultimately what will set you free. Turn what you do well into a system. Then train others to use it.
Mike Brunel is co-owner of NRS Media, currently working with over 400 major television, radio, and newspaper companies in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, the United States, South America, Canada, South Africa, the African continent, Australia, and Asia, NRS Media has offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, and Sydney and employs over 175 staff. Mike is available for sales training and consultations, email mike.brunel@talkingmediasales.com
From the desk of Liber8me. Small business mentors and publisher of Liber8 your Business: The revolutionary business planning technique that will set every small business owner free
In my latest book, The Liber8 Disciplines, I’m working with HR consultant Antonia Haythornthwaite on the key strategies to build a high performance team. Antonia advises that you find out what key factors motivate a particular individual and then use these to encourage the best performance from this person. Knowing what motivates an individual and then building this into their goals and challenges can make a stunning difference to a person’s performance. In the book, Antonia provides a check list you can give employees to find out what drives them. I’m going to share it with you in this blog.