8 Reasons a Grown-Up Business Makes More Money

We know when we’re dealing with a Grown-Up Business. It’s an enjoyable experience that we want to repeat over and over again.

We feel valued, we’re treated well, and everything runs smoothly without hiccups. Even though we’re spending our hard-earned cash, we don’t mind – we enjoy it.

The staff that help us are smiling, attentive without being pushy. They want us to enjoy the experience and they want to please us.

We also know what it’s like to trade with a business that hasn’t grown up.

A Grown-Up Business is well organised: it’s got a clear vision of what it wants and it has plans, goals, and targets. It’s a great place to work: it has a higher than average staff retention rate and it employs really good people at every level. The products work every time. They deliver what the customer wants and needs. The customer service and aftercare behind the product is great. In fact, everything is under control and everything runs like clockwork. Each stage or process moves seamlessly on to the next. Everyone knows what to expect, what to do, and to what standard. Everything is consistently consistent.

When a business transitions into a Grown-Up Business it…

1. Charges more than its competitors
2. Understands its customers – probably better than they know themselves
3. Has a growing number of new and repeat customers, and those customers become their unpaid salesforce
4. Sells more services and products
5. Always gets paid on time
6. Is systematised with robust processes and procedures
7. Becomes an expert purchaser of components, materials, and services
8. Is consistently consistent

Has your business Grown-Up? How well did you answer the 8 questions above?

Because of all of these factors, the business grows. It develops a consistency and rhythm to everything it does. This then builds momentum in the company and with that comes great opportunities for the business to grow further.

Whatever your views about McDonald’s, it’s definitely a Grown-Up Business. Whichever outlet you visit, the customer experience is exactly the same. It’s highly systematised: every aspect of the business has a system that’s been refined over time to make it fool proof and consistent. Absolutely everything has a process which is always followed to the letter. That’s why it’s almost impossible to have a burger without a gherkin! The business runs like a well-oiled machine, even when the boss isn’t there. Everyone knows what to do, how to do it, and why they’re doing it that way. The ability to build a Grown-Up Business like Ray Croc did is the key to successful growth.

So how did you get on with the questions? Perhaps time to take a good look at the business and get those plans in place. If you’re stuck try these How To’s….

• Think about the businesses you’ve used over the past three months, including your own shopping.
  1. What did you like about the way they treated you?
  2. What didn’t you like and why?
  3. Have you changed how you see them since the last time you had contact with them?
• Which company do you wish your company could emulate? What do you admire about them? What do they do that you want your company to do?
• Which of your competitors do you want to be better than?

An extract from my book, The Grown-Up Business.