The Cobalt Group: business roadblocks

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Why You’re Really In Business

If you don’t have a clear answer to the following question, you may struggle to market your business, or even get it off the ground:

What problem are you solving?

You’re selling your product or service because you’re solving a problem, or problems, for your customers.

Read that last sentence again!

This is a fundamental mindset shift that must occur. And before you hang your shingle over your door and start trying to bring customers through the door,

Know the problem you’re solving!

You may make the greatest widget in the world but if your widget doesn’t solve a problem for someone, then you’ve made a great widget with no market to sell it.

Make sure you understand exactly what their problem is, or what issue they’re trying to resolve.

Not only do you have to know what the problem is, but you must understand how it impacts your customer.

You’re going to invest a lot of time and money getting the word out about your good or service, so your marketing plan needs to be specific.

Knowing the problem you’re solving is the first step. From there you can narrow down your efforts to those people whose problem(s) you’re actually able to solve?

And it doesn’t really matter what you sell, your target isn’t ‘everyone’.

So, don’t forget Why You’re Really in Business.

For more information about how The Cobalt Group can help you with any business or leadership challenges you are facing, Contact us.

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Friday, December 12, 2014

What keeps you or your business from being successful? What keeps you from achieving the results you set out to achieve? This is a topic that books have been written about but I will try to address at a high level view in this post. My list here will not be all inclusive. There are too many independent variables in each situation we face to list them all here. The ones I will discuss below are ones that seem to be more prevalent in my experience and observations. So what are some of the Roadblocks to Results?

· Having no goal. If we don’t start with the end in mind then it is more likely that we will not get there. As simple as that seems it is not too uncommon that I run across situations where there is no real goal.

· No long range planning. Too often we worry about the near term requirements to the neglect of the long term goal(s). We then make decisions based on what are more immediate needs vice the longer term needs we have. That doesn’t mean that near term needs aren’t important. But don’t make all of your decisions based on the more immediate issues to the neglect or impact on your long term goals.

· Lack of adaptability. Another roadblock is being unable to adapt to changes in the business environment. Things change and unless we either predict the change or adapt quickly we run the risk of getting left behind.

· Getting sidetracked. Seems obvious but letting other distractions interfere can keep you from achieving your goals. If you pursuing a certain goal and another shiny object appears it takes good business discipline to stay focused. There may be times when you want to change direction and go for the new opportunity but it needs to be weighed heavily and it needs to align with the long term goals.

· Relying on technology to solve problems. We all love technology and the way it is supposed to make our lives ‘simpler’. But there are problems out there that technology doesn’t solve. A look at your goals and the objectives you laid out to reach them should indicate whether your problem is a technological problem or business problem. One example is…will that new CRM database help you achieve your goals? Or will it create unintended consequences across the company? Often, it’s the basic blocking and tackling that leads to victory.

· Looking for other examples to emulate vice solutions for you. Don’t look to the example of others to simply cut and paste a solution into your environment. They may have had a very similar problem but the cause of the problem may be different. Make sure it is an exact fit before just copying a solution used elsewhere.

As I said, this topic has had many books devoted to it. My aim is not to write a book about it but to get you to take a hard look at what Roadblocks to Results are keeping you from achieving your goals.

We want to hear what you think. Leave a comment and let’s start a discussion.