Lessons from the Greats

Dear All

I have been asked to follow up from some of my keynote speech comments from the conference at the Birmingham International Convention Centre, UK, delivering twice with @Paul Avins, and from the same keynote in Sydney, Australia with @Mike Clark.

A key question persists: Did I really say you should focus on fewer products/services?

The answer is simple, absolutely YES! As discussed in the keynote, the world is so fast and transparent these days that its so much easier for people to access the best products in the world from ANYWHERE in the world. Hence if you aren't the best at something, over time people will source that solution elsewhere and you won't have much of a business left. Equally, and I think few people ever consider this point, for me its at the heart of world class sporting success which is something I'm really passionate about: you must SPECIALISE! Its simple maths: the more hours you clock up on ONE sport, the better you get.

Equally in business, the more hours your team spend on marketing, selling, support, designing, refining, making, dispatching, invoicing, FEW products, the better you become at ALL aspects of that product/service. HOWEVER, the more time you spend on marketing, selling, designing, supporting and the rest, on LOTS of different products, including ones you have little or no hope of becoming the best at, the more you dilute your team's focus and expertise.

Want evidence of how the "Sales & Marketing Greats" approach this? In 2014 P&G produced over US$83Bn in sales from around 165 different brands, across pretty much every country in the world. What did they do? They dropped/sold off around 100 of their 165 brands, to FOCUS on the remaining 65. That meant walking away from over 60% of their brands they had spent years building into multi-million dollar businesses. That takes focus, that takes commitment, that takes a clear business strategy, and at the heart of it that takes guts.

But as you look further into the decision, you realise that the remaining 65 brands are responsible for 95% of P&Gs profits. Hence, reducing 60% of their distractions and losing 5% of their profits seems like a sound logical decision. In fact 21 of those top 65 brands produce at least US$1Bn in sales globally. While the decision seems logical, it doesn't make such a decision any easier. Time will tell about how wise a move it was. If I were a betting man, which I'm not, I'd back them to have made one of the best strategic decisions they've ever made, 170 years of pretty consistent growth would be adequate proof enough of their smart decision making.

So how do our clients, mostly small to medium enterprises, implement the same approach? As I said in my three keynote speeches, it may feel like a gutsy move to walk away from existing income streams/products/services you current carry, especially with so much change occurring in markets and economies around the world, but that doesn't mean that you can use it as an excuse. Deciding WHAT you sell is a part business strategy, part marketing strategy, decision. It impacts EVERYTHING you do from then on.

Its a critical decision and one that shouldn't be rushed. Its one that needs to be challenged annually, measured at least quarterly, and a conversation we see too many businesses avoiding too much. Too often people focus on the TACTICAL side of business without being proactive and strategic enough. As the old saying goes: "If you try to be all things to all people, you'll end up being nothing to no one!"

We're currently taking our marketing boot camp and our sales boot camp around New Zealand, Australia and the UK. Both are TACTICAL, they help you market and sell WHAT you already sell. The missing next step for most is to review your offering. My challenge to you: December 2016 is as good a time as any to book in serious time to decide: should we refocus on fewer products/services?

Keep up the great work one and all - Ambrose.