Family businesses are here to stay and thrive!

The family is the oldest human institution that exist, and it is the ideal institution! For this week’s post I have compiled the below points to consider when building your family business and make it a successful one!

¯ Communication: Effective communication is an important characteristic of strong, healthy families. Communication refers to the way verbal and non-verbal information is exchanged between family members. The ability to pay attention to what others are thinking and feeling. In other words, an important part of communication is not just talking, but listening to what others have to say. Communication between genders and the effect of birth rank/birth order in your communication. Many aspects of the role that birth order can play in the development of your personality make sure to be aware of that and communicate your concern early on and to be sure to be heard.

¯ Outsource finance & human resources: A third party, which means a neutral person, will be better positioned to manage the money and help with the performance challenges. A neutral person will also help mediate conflicts or help with conversations in general.

¯ Trust: creating and/or restoring trust in family relationships. If the past you share with your family is not pretty, make sure to voice it. Whatever you feel, make sure to communicate it and to be heard.

¯ Long term vision for the company: The great secret of business families that achieve tremendous wealth and hold onto it for generations is that they persistently promote the entrepreneurial spirit that led to their initial success. A combination of ambition, and the willingness to take calculated risks is essential to the long-term success, particularly in challenging times.

¯ Manage expectations: goals and expectations. You each have to get to know each other and find out what the expectations are early on. Do not assume that you know each other at all just because you all come from the same family!

¯ Roles: set the roles for the position not the person!

o Partnership

o Sales relationship

o Regular employee

¯ Compliments very often and say these words very often: please, thank you and you are welcome!

Sell the way your customers want to buy and not the way you want to sell!

For your sales process to be effective, it should be adaptable to suit different selling situation and customer needs. Design a sales process with your customers in mind!

Here is are 5 areas I suggest you focus on when it comes to your sales process:

1. Customer profiles: who do you want to work with? Who is your ideal customer?

2. Budget management: Customer profile will help you narrow down the type of customers you want to work with and reduce wasting time and money on sales meetings.

3. Sales meetings preparation: how much time to spend in a sales meeting? What questions to ask?

4. Step into your customer’s shoes: sell the way your customers want to buy! How can you help them? Help your clients incorporating you in what they do.

5. Offer the best customer experience: People first. Being a people person is a trait! Cultivate your intuition. People always come back when they feel understood and accepted. This is how you create and maintain long-lasting customer relationships.

Business is never as usual! Because it is life! Keep adapting and learning.

Your business reflects you! You attract the kind of clients that you are!

Your business is nothing more than a reflection of who you are. Most business owners are a mixture of entrepreneur, manager, and technician. Business leaders embrace a variety of leadership styles.

While each approach has its pros and cons, what is most important is that the leader establishes the focus in the company.

Here are the 5 aspects of a company that I have selected for today’s post:

1. Money: your spending habits

2. Language: tone of voice and words

3. Attitude: solution mindset

4. New people, new clients: create new opportunities all the time

5. What you focus on: winning mindset