No matter where your business is located, the top 5% of your competitors are kickin it and the rest are wondering why and how”

How are the top companies in your industry different from yours? In every industry and in every market there are a select group of companies that do much better financially than 95%of the others.

Are they doing business completely different? Not likely. The differences that propel companies to be highly profitable are typically subtle.

We all have to contend with the same issues.

• Seasonality
• Low price competitors,
• Service or product differentiation
• Maintaining a sales pipeline
• Labor market
• Customer service demands and spending habits.
• Access to capital
• Recovering overhead expense in pricing
• Negotiating accounts receivable and payables
• Management and leadership strategy

Through my consulting work I have encountered companies in the top 5% and those that aren’t. The difference between the two, is not all the great. This is good news. Small changes in attitude and perspective can have a huge impact on your results. The changes are simple, but not easy.

The primary difference between the top 5% and the rest can be distilled down to two things:

• Thoughtful brand consideration that is consistent with the owner’s values.

• Long term goals are kept primary

Thoughtful brand consideration that is consistent with the owner’s values.

1. In the digital age your brand means as much as it did in the analog world, even more. Its back to the future. When our granddads were in business, deals were agreed to on a handshake and your reputation determined your trajectory. Back then if you didn’t hold up your end of an agreement, if you did someone wrong, your customer, lender, supplier or employee would tell everyone they knew. That  might be ten people, through social media, today they can tell the world.
2. With so many choices for consumers, people will buy from trusted brands, who believe what they believe. They want to align themselves with brands that deliver value and who represent what the consumer believes is important and meaningful to their lives.
3. In molding your company’s brand the consumer is only 1/4 of the equation to consider. Branding must exemplify an extraordinary value and feel worthy not just for the consumer, but equally important to the employees that work for the brand, the shareholders that own the brand and the suppliers who serve it.

You can’t fake brand,it’s the foundation of your company. The business must be a physical realization of your core values. The values you hold to be primary, in your heart and in the core of your business."                                                                                        

Long term goals are kept primary - Business is a long haul endeavor meant to be extraordinary. Short term gains are denied to support the ultimate vision for the company.

This means investing in the company’s 4 primary constituents based on long term outcomes. The primary 4 constituents of every company:

• customers
• employees
• shareholders
• suppliers

It’s all about deepening the connection to each group and nurturing relationships with your constituents. Stephen Covey Sr. talked about win win relationships in his book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”  Businesses with long term goals in mind will maintain these kinds of relations with each primary constituent group.

• Training, coaching and mentoring so that everyone is benefitting from the relationship to the company
• Considering the long term value of relationships when considering owning up to a perceived betrayal of trust
• Communicating your vision clearly and frequently
• Modeling the behavior you want to promote, nurture and sustain in your company and in the community

All of these are offered with the meaning, quality and value of your company’s brand in mind. My experience has been in service trades and design. The companies in these industries that are at the top of their markets with their customers, employees and within their communities have found their way to great profitability.Performing with just the slightest edge.

About the Author: Dan Pestretto is an Amazon best-selling author, business leader and consultant working with designers, contractors and trade service providers, with his specialty in horticultural trades. He helps business owners develop, fine-tune and implement their companies' systems and empowers them to increase annual revenues.

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