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What is the Clear Guide Assessment?
The Clear Guide© Assessment Tool evaluates all areas
of a small business against the 36 functional areas of a
fully mature business. I designed it to uncover areas in
a small business that are undergoing challenges. During
my corporate career in IT, I helped large businesses streamline
their organization, cut costs, and increase productivity,
enabling them to grow and thrive. We always started our
evaluation with an assessment, because sometimes the problems
are not obvious. To understand the root cause of the problem,
you can't stop at the symptom.
With the Clear Guide© Assessment Tool, I apply the
same approach I used with big companies, but I've scaled
down the process for small businesses, not in terms of content
but in terms of time. Small businesses don't have a lot
of time or money, so I cater to your limitations. In fact,
once I identify areas that need attention, I make low and,
in some cases, even no cost recommendations.
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How much will this cost me?
Pricing is a fixed fee, based on the size of the business.
Here's what the Clear Guide© Assessment includes:
One-on-one meetings with the business owner and/or key management
personnel. For businesses with one to ten employees, it
will take only 1 1/2 to 2 hours for the assessment interview
initially, with an hour-long follow-up. For larger businesses,
there are several interviews, each 1 1/2 hours in duration,
because there is more to cover and typically it involves
other personnel. The findings can be presented in 1 1/2
to 2 hours.
In all cases, six months of business coaching by telephone
is included because we believe it's not enough to identify
the problem areas. You will need to work your way through
the solutions, and Clear Guide Consulting is committed to
helping you do that by holding you accountable for the solutions.
Otherwise, why spend the money on learning what your problems
are if you're not going to implement the necessary steps
to improve the future of your business?
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How do I know this kind of consulting is for my business?
There are many warning signs you should be aware of. Here
are a few:
You, as the owner, are spending an inordinate time in the
business, but you can't seem to get everything done.
You are unable to increase the number of customers/clients
at a pace to give you the revenues you want.
Your revenues seem to have plateaued even though you feel
your business is capable of more.
You know you need help, but you don't feel you have the
time to train someone else to do the work.
You want to introduce new products or services, but you
never have the time or staff to do the necessary research
and development.
You have staff, but they work inconsistently, and you can't
put your finger on the cause. In fact, you don't even have
time to look into it.
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Which businesses would benefit from this type of consulting?
Almost any type of business will find the assessment process
valuable. It is ideally suited to independent start-ups,
but will benefit individuals involved in multi-level marketing,
home-based, agency and representative models, and even franchised
businesses. Anyone who feels their business is not progressing
and not growing at the right pace should invest in the assessment
to pinpoint the problem areas.
Entrepreneurs are so close to the day-to-day issues that
they can't see the forest for the trees. An independent
assessment can open your eyes to problems staring you in
the face.
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Can this type of consulting be done via the Internet?
No – this type of consulting will require phone contact
or face-to-face meetings. Emails are okay for follow-up
and appointment setting, but consulting services cannot
be provided in the absence of a personal dialogue.
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I am thinking of franchising my business. Can you help me
develop my business?
Interestingly, franchising is a great model. All franchises
conceive of a comprehensive enterprise, addressing all the
functional areas of a mature business: Marketing, Sales,
Operations, Customer Services, Finance, Administrative and
IT Support, Human Resources, and Research and Development.
Franchising is just an alternative way of expanding a business.
If you conceive the business as if you were going to become
a franchise, you will be vastly ahead of the game, even
if you chose to expand the business along more traditional
lines (like adding company stores in other locations).
Yes, I can help you prepare your business for expansion.
There are various ways to expand, and franchising is just
one. Regardless of the path you take, you will need to understand
where you are first. We would begin with the Clear Guide©
Assessment, and then, depending upon the direction you need
to take, Clear Guide Consulting will draw on its expert
resources, so that you get the best advice for your budget.
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What do you consider a small business?
The Small Business Administration offers guidelines on this.
Factors such as annual revenues and number of employees
are a consideration. Generally, Clear Guide Consulting classifies
small businesses as having 50-75 employees or less, with
revenues of $2,000,000 or less per year.
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How does your outsourcing for Customer Acquisition and
Retention work?
Not every business has staff trained and experienced in
customer service and prospecting. But these are important
functions, and still need to be done.
If you feel your customer base is not growing at the rate
you want, consider outsourcing your prospecting activities
to Clear Guide Consulting. We will work with you to craft
the right message for your cold calls, and any other
outgoing call function like networking follow-up, business
expo invitation and follow-up, arranging for speaking
engagements, and securing attendance for events. We use a
mature staff experienced in delivering marketing messages
tailored to your business AND adapted to suit each contact
we make on your behalf.
And, if your existing customer base is stagnant or
dwindling, you should consider a loyalty campaign to
determine why they are not returning to you or why they are
not referring others to you. Customer Care calls are best
handled by an outsider. Your customer will likely open up to
an objective caller more than if you call.
Clear Guide Consulting can provide either type of service on
a regular recurring basis or on a per project basis. We
offer performance based prospecting, so you pay for results.
Additionally, if you ultimately want to bring these services
in house, we offer custom training programs for you and your
staff.
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What other kind of help can you provide?
Sometimes, small businesses do not feel they have enough
capital to invest in improvements or consulting services.
This attitude can stymie their growth.
Clear Guide Consulting is sensitive to the need to conserve
spending and will often offer solutions that have no cost,
but will require some sweat equity on the business owner's
part. In other cases, where there will be a fee, solutions
are designed to fit the business owner's budget.
Clear Guide Consulting is extremely well-connected, and has
a very large network of experts who can provide other
professional services at affordable prices.
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