Reach for the Sky: RTA Business on the Art of Innovation

The amazing news that Google is attempting to build an honest to goodness self-driving car, only highlights the need for creativity and ambition in business, and this week, the RTA Business blog will explore just why you need to reach for the sky if you hope to make a substantial profit on the sale of your business.

It’s not as easy as showing a potential buyer your profit margins and waiting for them to sign on the dotted line. Buyers want to know that they can use your business to build on profit margins in the long term. If you’ve developed a lucrative, innovative product that fills a gap in the market, they’ll be biting your hand off to gain access to a veritable gold mine. This is why you need to reach for the sky.

Google: A Case Study in Ambition

Google is the perfect case study to highlight the benefits of ambition. They’ve practically constructed their entre brand through sheer ambition. Time and time again, Google have attempted the improbable, or at last the inadvisable (such as introducing Gmail in a saturated market) and they have seen success that has spurred them on to new heights.

They’ve become so popular because they find gaps in the market where they can make the most money - they find the practical opening then ambitiously shoot for the stars to fill it. The numbers back it up. Since it was first created in 1998, Google, according to Forbes, has become worth a staggering $382.47 billion.

RTA Business Asks: Will the Self Driving Car Work?

So is the self-driving car a step too far. It’s certainly an ambitious project; a car that will have a start/stop button, but no controls, steering wheel, pedals etc. If it’s possible, and that’s a big if, we at RTA Business believe that it could be Google’s next highly successful project.

Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin explained why to the BBC, stating that it aims to "improve people's lives by transforming mobility". The amount of people this could benefit is sky high – disabled people, older people, people who can’t drive, blind people etc. There’s so much potential.

This is why you need to reach for the sky if you ever hope to sell your business. Find that gap in the market and truly fill it, and you have a gold mine on your hands, a gold mine buyers will flock to acquire for a tidy sum!

RTA Business’ Top Five Tips For Effective Market Research

Market research is the lynchpin any successful business is based on, but it’s hard to know where to start when crafting an effective market research strategy. That’s why this week, RTABusiness Consultants thought we’d list for you these top five tips for effective market research.

You need to know your customer if you ever hope to sell your business. Not only is it the best way to actually make money (and show a buyer that your business will bump up their bottom line), but it also shows your buyer who they can target once they buy your business.

A buyer will want to know who your target consumer is, there’s no two ways about it. If you can’t show them that, they will walk away. So what do you need to know to cobble together an effective market research strategy?

A Few Tips from RTA Business

1) Be Broad: Use every avenue available to you – the more information you get, the clearer the picture of your target consumer will be. Use social media sites liberally to gather market data, as they have the capability to reach millions of people with minimal cost.

2) Open Ended Questions: Whenever you question potential consumers, do so by using open ended questions. This allows them to provide the accurate information you need to correctly identify your target market. Close ended questions often lead to gaps in information.

3) Embrace Convenience: Consumers tend to avoid answering market research surveys simply because they see it as a waste of their time, so make it convenient for them. An increasingly popular tactic is to approach consumers by smartphone, as in the modern world, smartphones are practically glued to people’s hands.

4) Political Correctness. Market research efforts have a nasty habit of offending people if questions are framed with language deemed unacceptable. This damages your overall brand. Always be conscientious of how consumers may react to market research methods.

5) Persistence Pays: Again, you’re probably not going to entice a consumer to contribute to your market research efforts on the first try, but you might on the second. Be persistent and they’ll contribute just to get rid of you!

Can You Predict a Financial Crash?

A key component in selling your business is deciding when the right time to do so is. This means you need to know when the economic climate is right to sell. Saying this, is it possible to predict a financial crash?

The 2008 financial crash was devastating; markets plunged, companies went bust, loans were called in. It’s a nightmare that we’re only now just recovering from, and most people didn’t really see it coming. It was pretty bad for business acquisition.

This was simply because nobody wanted to buy a business after the crash; everybody knew a recession was coming and that it would do them more harm than good to buy a business at that point. This is why it’s useful to be able to predict a financial crash; if you don’t then you might leave it too late to sell.

So is it possible to predict a financial crash? Not really; there are too many variables and too many opinions out there that could lead you to make a fatal misstep. However there are several steps that you can take to make yourself aware of trends that could lead to a financial crash.

To begin with, you have to keep track of markets. Obviously, the world’s economy depends on the markets. When we talk about a crash we talk about the markets crashing, so when they do, if you don’t know about it you’re going to be caught off guard, which could disadvantage you in a number of ways.

It’s also essential that you keep track of current affairs. What’s happening in the world effects market prices. For example, the current Ukraine crisis is affecting Russian stocks. Therefore if you have business dealings with Russian companies, it could affect your profit margins. It’s useful to know what the ramifications of current affairs may be ahead of time so that you can act to limit the damage.

It’s also useful to keep market bubble and bursts- when a product saturates the market and ends up losing value - in mind. Take the tech boom early last decade as an example. So many people were buying into tech that it flooded the market, no one needed it anymore and it lost value almost overnight. If you trade in a product that is part of a bubble market trend, keep track of when that bubble might burst.

At RTA Business we realise that predicting financial crashes is an inexact science at best, a nightmare at worst. However it is possible to at least recognise common trends that may lead to a market crash; it’s all about keeping yourself informed; a key principle in any business model.

What Should You Look For in an Employee?

A business is nothing without the employees on its payroll; it sinks or swims due to the people who engage in running said business. This is why it’s essential to have the best possible team running your business. So what should you be looking for in your potential employees?

When you interview for a new position it can feel as though you’re lost in a sea of applications. You’ve sifted through the CV’s and weeded out everybody who’s made a spelling mistake or obviously lied about their experience, and you’re left with a talented crop of interviewees.

With more people than ever trained to degree level or equivalent, you have a whole host of potential employees to pick from. You don’t know where to start, but you know you have to get it right if this employee is going to be an asset to your business.

This is why you should be looking for personality traits. You know what experience the applicant has, however you can only assess whether their personality will be a good fit for your company face-to-face. So what personality traits should you be looking for?

The first is obviously intelligence; however this intelligence should be tempered with common sense. You need an intelligent employee to handle the work, but with the common sense to recognise when they should take things on their own initiative.

Measure this by talking about current affairs and seeing what insights they provide. This not only allows you to measure their intelligence but their understanding of the way in which the world we live works; therefore you get a fair measure of their common sense too.

Another key trait is ambition. Ambition may eventually prompt that employee to leave your company, but it will drive them to do the best job they can whilst with you. Measure this by asking them about their future ambitions. It’s also a great measure of honesty, as this is a notoriously difficult interview question and those with less integrity are more likely to deceive.

Kindness is another personality trait that you need in an employee.  It may seem an odd one in business, but it works in relation to office dynamics. This person is going to be in your office all day, every day, and if they’re the confrontational sort, it will have an effect on office harmony; which will in turn drive down office productivity.

The interview process is one of the toughest parts of owning your own business; however it’s also essential to growing your own business and attracting buyer. At RTA Business we really do know that any company is the sum of its parts, or in this case, employees.

The Importance of a Credit Report

When it comes to selling off your business there are few things that are more important to the process than conducting a credit report. Why do you need to do this and what can it bring to a business sale?

At RTA Business Consultants, one of the country’s leading business acquisition services, we recognise that confidence is key on both sides when you are selling a business. You have to be confident that a buyer has the funds to go through with the purchase and they have to have the confidence that your business will benefit them financially.

This is why you should not only carry out a credit report on your own company, but on theirs too. A credit report is a report that you can obtain which details your credit history. It details accounts, loans, missed payments, jointly held financial agreements, publicly available financial records etc. Normally they are used to ascertain how likely a company is to uphold financial agreements.

There are several services that provide a credit report. Prices for such a service often vary, but usually it clocks in at around £15. However depending on the price the level of service you are provided varies. Look around and conduct some internet researching to find the service that most suits your needs.

It’s easy to see you would want to request a credit report for a potential buyer of your business. You are depending on the buyer to uphold their end of the bargain and a credit report tells you whether they have a history of doing so or not. It provides security and shows that they are trustworthy. It’s insurance.

However it’s not always  so easy to see why when you are selling your business you would conduct a credit report on the business itself, as you might not have a perfect credit history, which is common for small businesses as they’ve gotten started.

However you have to think about it from the buyer’s perspective. They know that no business is perfect and they don’t want to be lied to. Providing a credit report shows them the true state of the business and shows them that you re honest and that they know what they’re buying.

At RTA Business we recognise that when you are selling your business you need to be prepared. Investing in credit report means that you know what you are dealing with and how to proceed. 

Is The Source of Retail Economic Growth Shifting?

A survey released this week suggests that the UK experienced a record amount of online shopping this Christmas. At RTA Business this has made us question whether the source of retail economic growth is shifting online.

Retail has always formed a major element of economic growth. This is one of the key reasons politicians give when they attempt to slash taxes; that more income means more spending which means more cash injected into the economy.

Furthermore this is a tactic governments and big business themselves use when attempting to shore up the economy and rescue their profit margins. Following the 2008 economic crash the government developed several schemes such as Help to Buy and the Green Deal designed to inject fresh cash into flagging markets.

Christmas is the Superbowl of shopping. The commercial nature of the season, the idea of gift giving, inspires the general public to shop. Businesses know this, and as such ad campaigns and special offers are put in place like never before.

However this last Christmas revealed some surprising details. Retail giants such as Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s and Tesco sold significantly less than usual during the lucrative season. Considering that many of these large retailers make a significant portion of their profits at this time, this is a somewhat worrying conclusion.

However online sales were stronger than ever this Christmas. Overall there was a 19.2% growth in the rate of internet purchases over the Christmas season. In contrast UK retail sales rose by just 0.4% on a like-for-like basis.

In more detail; online shopping accounted for 18.6% of the total of sales not involving food in the closing month of 2013. This was an almost 2% increase from 16.5% in 2012.

The survey was conducted by the BRC and the group’s Director General Helen Dickinson spoke to the BBC on what their results could mean. She said that "this Christmas we've seen innovative retailers using click and collect and other approaches to make a virtue of both their website and their physical shops. And that's something we see growing in importance."

At RTA Business we understand the point Dickinson is making, business growth in the modern world happens online. Online sales platforms are emerging in importance; customers appreciate the convenience. It is likely that as online platforms evolve in sophistication, it could affect the very way we measure business growth.

For more information about RTA Business Consultants, visit our website or follow us on Twitter.

Tips for a Successful Sales Strategy

Here at RTA Business Consultants, we understand how important it is for companies aiming to sell goods and services to have a strong sales strategy in place. As the UK’s most successful privately owned business agency, we thought we’d bring you a few top tips to make the most of your sales plan.

·         First of all, planning is key. Start by mapping your client journey. If you can tap into the process of buying your product, you will be able to iron out any needless creases. Focus on both pre and post-sale processes, paying careful attention to how a customer might feel at each point.

·         Write down all the ways in which you can reduce cost and increase satisfaction. While you shouldn’t sacrifice your profit margin, a lower price usually means a happier customer. You don’t want to give them a reason to look at what your competitors have to offer.

·         When your sales process is in place, it’s time to think about marketing. What’s your unique selling point? How can you attract your target customers? It’s best to invest as much time as possible into your marketing plan as it is this that will (hopefully!) attract your ideal customers.

·         Be careful in assigning resources and be sure to monitor these processes on an ongoing basis. This may involve regular sales meetings or team briefing sessions to ensure everyone is up to date with the project and its progression.

·         Involve your whole team and have them complete regular records so you can stay ahead of any changes in activity.

Successful business practice doesn’t come over night, but with careful planning and monitoring, and a confident, committed team, sales growth will come!

For more information about RTA Business Consultants, visit our website or follow us on Twitter.