Previous Reviews
Below are all the reviews to date with links to purchase the literature:
Schell, Michael. The Customer Approved Small Business. Approved Publications Inc. Vancouver, British Columbia 2005.
By The Small Biz. Guru, Zane Schweer
It is 3:11am. He just downed his seventh cup of coffee. The dog is speaking French and the significant other is threatening to walk out… again. Yet, the ever-persistent entrepreneur and/or business owner is awake, plotting, and creating a business to make his/her dream a reality. However, these late night sessions could be just a waste of time unless this visionary develops a sound design and plan to make his idea a reality. This is where Michael Schell, CEO and President of the Approved Group of Companies comes to rescue the bleary eyed business hopeful. Having twenty-plus years in business-to-business sales, Michael Schell and his team surveyed 228 buyers, conducted 330 interviews, and recorded the answers to 4,327 questions with the hopes of developing an easy-to-understand, basic platform to build one’s business. This book is different from others in that it is written from the perspective of the customer.
An emerging businessman can develop a service or product that solves all the problems plaguing a particular market, but if the proper foundation is not established, appropriate clients not targeted, and proper business professionalism not exhibited, the venture is destined to perish. The Customer Approved Small Business is based on numerous business secrets that revolve around the foundation of solid business practices, development of new business, and how to tie it all together.
The forward focuses on the fact that clients in today’s markets are less likely to show loyalty to one business. People go where the overall experience and service meets and exceeds expectations. Therefore, the importance of listening to the customer and curtailing the business model to embrace that premise is critical. Let us not forget that there is a sixty percent rate of failure for a business in its first five years. So, Schell stresses the idea of “measure twice, cut once” and “plan, plan, then execute”. Thus, I decided to refer to this book as a manual/handbook because it gives great instructions and helpful tools to begin to build a well-functioning business that evolves to the volatile market-place.
This manual plunges into building a business foundation. The foundation is built upon ensuring operational efficiency and effectiveness. Schell believes this is achieved by developing manuals (processes, job descriptions, missions). Well written handbooks help to avoid confusion as a business grows and, inevitably, becomes more complex. Thus, it helps to avoid the development of the “micro manager”. We have all had them and the strain they impose in the workplace environment is detrimental to overall goals. Mr. Schell gives tips on how to standardize each process and effectively eliminate the guess work. However, I do feel that a smaller business at the onset should not have as strict predefined roles. Most of the time, smaller businesses have employees that deal with numerous areas in the business and restricting them to specific roles may do more harm than good. While Mr. Schell believes (and rightly so) the ultimate goal of developing manuals is to withstand turn over and, thereby, maintaining stability in business practices.
As the book progresses, Schell examines the development of new business. Whether it is building the prospect database (industries, contacts, locations, etc), cultivating strategies to influence the decision makers, creating ISPS (industry specific positing statements), or telling us, the readers, what not to do during that initial sales call, he provides useful tips that every businessman/woman should know.
A serious pitfall for eager salespeople is to try to make a sale on the first call. I strongly agree. For a business to be “customer approved” according to this book, it is all about developing relationships and showing respect for a potential client’s time. Concentrate on providing a solution that meets the needs of the potential new purchaser. Sales will follow.
Understanding that the first 30 seconds of a call or meeting can make or break one’s success / clinching business, Schell provides tips on ways to The Customer Approved Small Business gives great examples of ways to write opening statements, primary reason statements, and key point statements because those initial thirty-seconds of a call or meeting make or break any hopes of success. As a business continues to grow and hire more employees, having this book as a resource gives the “newbies” a great way to draft their own statements instead of some cookie-cutter elongated paragraph. Getting a new-hire up to speed as quickly as possible increases the opportunity for profitability. I wish I was given this book when I started my job.
The most important sections in this book are the chapters honed in on planning and organizing meetings, developing an overall organization’s structure, and the “What the Buyers Say” sections. The “What the Buyers Say” is spread throughout the book. These tid-bits are notes and comments from business owners themselves regarding how they like to be approached and how they ultimately decide who earns their business. In addition, there are survey percentages given in regards to how many businesses put into practice certain ideas and the average rating of importance. For example, “I prefer to be asked for a moment of my time, but only about 20% of representatives do it” (Schell, pg 33). This was in reference to sales calls. These tid-bits scattered throughout the book are to re-enforce the theme of respecting client’s time and showing the ideal ways to conduct business.
As organization is one of the lifelines to a successful business, Schell gives concrete advice on how to create structure within the business, increase effectiveness of meetings, phone calls, mission statements, and ways to position oneself as an expert in the respective industry. In particular, the sections on developing an agenda before meetings to maximize time and guidelines for conducting follow up phone calls/meetings are excellent templates for anyone starting out or a seasoned veteran looking to fine tune.
Overall, The Customer Approved Small Business does a great job providing advice on laying a sound foundation through the use of manuals, processes, people, and plans. Then, Schell leads the business owner on how to take those plans and ideas and organize them, develop strong mission statements, and adapt to the ever changing business environment. Receiving tips from professionals who actually interact and make decisions based on what they have experienced gives this book an added bonus. The commentary and survey results help guide any start-up business in the right direction. At the end of the day, 60% of all entrepreneurs who set out to fulfill their dreams fail within in the first five years. This book will not save the business owner, but it does harness key knowledge that will ignite the spark that will hopefully burst into full-fledge flames.
Black, Cathie. Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life). Crown Business: New York, 2007.
By Zane Schweer, The Small Biz.Guru
In a day and age when people are moving faster than the speed of light, ordering mocha tai-chi lattes with extra-fine skim milk, working 80 hour work weeks, and popping a menagerie of pills, it is refreshing to discover that there are individuals who drive hard, but have not lost focus on what makes them human, encompassing a “360 degree” life. One of those individuals is the president of Hearst Magazines, Cathie Black.
Her book, Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life, gives a first person narrative of the highs and lows of her corporate journey. Although the book is geared towards women, that did not deter this male reviewer from reading it; especially as I am always trying to understand the female psyche. The overall theme of this narrative is to help people in the workforce ascertain how to forge an identity and to follow one’s hopes and dreams.
Through-out the nine chapters, Ms. Black lucidly speaks about particular traits upon which every business individual should focus and build upon. Those qualities are: drive, risk, people, fear, power, passion, attitude, leadership, and the power of the present. Each of these behaviors comprises a chapter. Half of the chapters has case studies to putting the teachings into practice and the other half has tips on continuing to progress in the business world.
What seems to be one of the best aspects of the guide is the straight- forward language. Black speaks as a mentor, giving sound advice on how to structure a career in the sense of maintaining relationships with people, dealing with conflict within the workforce, and navigating a difficult job. She encourages the reader to know when to exert oneself, when to break the rules, when to take chances, and surprise people just when they think they have you pegged.
In addition to the work-related information, the idea of balancing work and life is presented in a compelling manner. She refers to it as the “360 degree” life. Work, family, leisure, and mind are all a part of this circular existence. Setting parameters and striving for certain goals allows one to properly regulate oneself. Ms. Black admits that she was a workaholic in her 20’s, but, as she matured, she realized she wanted more than to simply advance up the corporate ladder.
As a man fresh out of college and now in the corporate world, my life is a whirlwind. It is very helpful to be mentored by a woman who has risen to the top of her profession. As I have just spent four years strumming through thick text-books telling me what to think, Ms. Black’s book compliments this education with her insight into the realities of the business world, emphasizing the need for independent thinking and the taking of well-calculated risks.
Overall, Basic Black is a great read. It is not a gripping page-turner that will keep one captivated for hours, but it does give great encouragement to an individual reading it. The behaviors that Cathie Black presents should be at the forefront of every individual’s mind in order to create a sense of peace and fulfillment. Yes, we go to work to pay the bills and achieve a certain standard of living; but as we have heard before, “There is more to life”. Ms. Black reaffirms this adage through her life which is filled with constant adjustment. As Black writes, “The most important lesson…is that there is no single set of rules for how to succeed, and that trying to copy what someone else has done won’t help.” (Black, pg 257).
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© 2007-2008 by Zane Schweer / The Small Biz. Guru. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution prohibited.