"Grow, Die, or Become Irrelevant"

In 2015, I spoke to the Scotts Lawn Service Annual Franchise Conference. I was asked to speak on growing your company/growth despite the circumstances. I titled my presentation, “Grow, Die, or Become Irrelevant.”
“No growth” invariably leads to declining profit and eventual death or abandonment by the owners. A no-growth company is a treadmill. What does an owner do to ensure growth even in the midst of the toughest circumstances? Here are just some of those things on the “To Do List” for growing your business and not necessarily in any particular order:
1. Great Service. If you don't have great service both personally and procedurally, you won't have many ways to differentiate yourself and your sales will reflect that. If you have great service, you will almost have to sabotage your company or run from customers to escape growth.
2. Employee Retention. There is an indisputable relationship between great service, employee retention and growth.
3. Cash Management. Growth should largely be funded by cash from operations. There is a way to do that.
4. Chasing rabbits. Stay focused on your core competencies. Stick to the knitting, so to speak. Never forsake recurring revenue. Not every business is a natural extension of what you do.
5. Keep your eyes on your goals; not on obstacles. Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
6. Not enough sales to at least double your rate of cancellations.
7. Customer retention. See number 6.
8. Establish documented systems and procedures. Systems are the scar tissue of past failures.
9. Don’t be afraid to fail. The only people who don’t make mistakes are people who don’t do anything.
10. A great culture. Norms and values that support great service, encourage employee and customer retention.
11. Be efficient. Have efficient systems and procedures.
12. Vision. If you can’t see the end result in your mind’s eye, you may not be able to accomplish it.
13. Prepare the organization for change. Change.
14. Make everything scalable.
15. Lead by example and never let them see you sweat.

There’s no such thing as status quo. You are either growing or not growing, so growth is your only option.
Want to know more? Visit our website and give us a call. Thinking of selling your company? We can fully assist you throughout the entire process.
-Greg Clendenin
www.theclendeninconsultinggroup.com