LISTEN TO THE LATEST PODCAST EPISODE:

Systematize Your Business Systems for Accelerated Success

SUMMARY

In this episode, we talk about Business Systems. We discuss about the characteristics
of a good business system and keys for its success. A good business system leverages
your time so you can focus only on the core elements.

The Anatomy of a Good Business System

Customer Focused: Everything
we do needs to be focused on customer experience. The system is no good if it
creates friction. So we need to create a system that transcends customer
experience.

Best Practices: We should
make it world class while avoiding the perfectionist syndrome which gets
nothing done. Get the best practices that exist. Be flexible to improve on it
regularly and build a system that grows with time.

Single Outcome: The system
should be focused on a single outcome because then we can measure it. Make sure
it typically has a specific outcome focused on it.

Single Ownership: It should
have singular ownership where one person is responsible. At the beginning, it
will be you. But as you grow, transfer the responsibility.

Simple: A simple
business system is the one that gets followed. It will not be respected if it
is complex. So make it a simple system that works.

Documented: It should be
documented so that the person responsible for it can be replaced. It might take
time to document it but it’s worth the avoidable future aggravations.

Measured and Rewarded: It should be
measurable so we can manage the process, inputs and outputs. If the value
creation goes up, the team should be rewarded.

The Key Systems for Success

Attraction System: A marketing
system to attract the right people. It should be constantly connected so
clients are brought in regularly.

Conversion System: After
attracting people, how do we shift them from interested to buyer? Have a way to
convert them.

Delivery: After
something is bought it needs to be delivered. Have a fulfilment house that can
ship the goods and deliver the services.

Connecting: Have a
people system to connect with your vendors and teams. Your success is a team pursuit.
So, have one in place to nurture, coach, support, evaluate and bring in people.

Tracking System: It is meant
to track your productivity, profits, cash flow and other elements. It deals
with data and accounting which is the life’s blood for your business.

— Begin Transcript —

Hey there, I’m Mel Abraham, the author of the #1 best-selling book, The Entrepreneur’s Solution and the founder of Business Breakthrough Academy, where we teach you how to design a business and create a life: A life of financial freedom and peace of mind.

And welcome back to this episode of The Entrepreneur’s Solution show and in this episode, we’re going to talk a bit about Business Systems. I know you say bingo, “Oh Business systems” but they’re the key to leveraging your time. They’re the key to allowing you to remove yourself from your business for times so you can have time to yourself and in fact I took 92 days off last year and allowed my business to operate.

So, when we come back after this brief introduction we’re going to talk a bit about,

  • What’s the keys to a good system?
  • What are the characteristics?
  • And what types of systems you need to think about for your business to make sure that you get them in place over time.

So, when we come back we’ll do that. But before we leave, just want to let you know that every episode, as you know, if you’ve been with me for a while, you know that every episode comes with a tool, a template, some sort of guide, something that is a tool that you can download and go use to accelerate your success. And for this one you just simply go to, MelAbraham.com/session035 to get it.

And if you’re not at your computer, you’re out running around or doing something, just text. Text MYLEGACY one-word with no-spaces MYLEGACY to 38470. We’ll get you the download link, so you get all the benefits that you can and we get a chance to support you in your journey.

So, I’ll see you right back after this brief introduction and we’ll get into business systems. See you soon. Bye.

Hey there, Mel Abraham here, the author of the #1 best-selling book, The Entrepreneur’s Solution and the founder Business Breakthrough Academy. And welcome back to this episode of The Entrepreneur’s Solution show. And in this episode, we take a little time to start to look at business systems.

  • What are the kinds of systems you need?
  • What are the characteristics that should be existing to have a really good system?

And in a lot of times, you sit back and go, “Systems? This is really boring”. And I get it. I get it. When you start talking about some of those things but that’s the infrastructure and the structure that’s going to allow you to get your time back. It’s the way that we get a chance to leverage the things that we do.

So for instance, in my world, in some of my businesses, I have people that are team members that support me and do some of the things that I’m not doing. So, there’s aspects of my business that I used to do that are very detailed and they were time consuming but they weren’t where my value was. They weren’t where I should be placing my time because it wasn’t the highest use of my time.

My best use of my time is working with you.

  • It’s creating content.
  • It’s about doing the training.
  • It’s about interacting with my customers, my clients, the community and building entrepreneurs.
  • It’s not about the admin.
  • It’s not about the billing.
  • It’s not necessarily about the customer service.

Now, I do take on the role for customer experience but from a customer service standpoint, I’ve got some of the best people out there. I know that if you’ve ever dealt with my team, you sit back and go, that we’ve got a world class team and I thank my team if they’re watching or listening for what they’ve done.

And so, the key is then really understanding

  • What goes into an effective business system?
  • What’s the anatomy of a good system?

And then, what systems might you need to look at putting into place; now I’m not saying that you need to go run out and put all kinds of systems in place right away. That would be overkill in many cases if some of you might be solopreneurs, some of you may just be simply starting out and so when you look at your systems, you’re the one doing all of it. And that’s the way all of us typically will start out.

But over time, we start to look at things and say,

What’s the core elements that you need to do?
What’s the core elements that I need to do?
What’s the core elements that really create value?

That transmit value. That allow you to interact and work with your clients and your customers at the highest level where you can give the value. And that stuff you want to keep control of.

Then the other things that are support elements that allow you to deliver at the highest level, that stuff what you’ll do is typically create systems in place and allow someone else to may be manage it while you oversee it.

I don’t ever want you to take your fingers completely off the pulse of things because that’s when things go awry. That’s when potential embezzlements happen or big mistakes happen or really kind of bad stuff really start to happen when you’re not checking the pulse on the patient on a regular basis. We want to do that.

The key though is to understand what goes into a system. Then we’re going to look at what systems that are typical in a business that you might to look at? And then asking yourself the question of,

Where your highest value is?
And how you can create value for your customer?
And how putting people in place at the right place, at the right time will allow you to then give more to your clients?

So, let’s just look at some of the characteristics, the anatomy of a good system. And the first is that, it’s Customer Focused.

Everything we do needs to be customer experience focused. What we want to look at is, if we’re putting a system in place that creates

  • Barriers,
  • Obstacles,
  • Frustrations,
  • Friction,
  • Resistance

In our customers having a relationship with us—the system’s no good.

  • It’s a problem that’s going to get in the way of commerce.
  • It’s going to get in the way of them becoming clients.
  • It’s going to get in the way of the relationship.

If I’m in a relationship with someone and I’m constantly putting obstacles in place and I’m making it difficult for them to be around me, at some point they’re going to turn around and say, “I don’t want to be around you anymore”.

And so, what we want to do is look at a system and say,

Is this customer focused?
Does it improve the customer experience?
Does it change and shift and transcend the customer’s experience?
Does it affect their lives in positive way?

And we want to create the system with that in mind.

The second piece is that your system ought to be based on Best Practices.

And there’s no reason that we should be creating systems that are second rate. If we’re going to create a system, it should be world class. And that doesn’t mean that, what concerns me when I say this is that sometimes we get into this Perfectionist Syndrome. The perfectionist syndrome, it’s a paradox because we say, “Well I’m trying to do the best. I’m trying to create the best thing for my customers, for my clients, for my team and for my business”.

And in the process what happens is that we don’t create anything. We simply don’t move. We don’t act. We don’t put anything out there because it’s not perfect. Guess what? It’s never going to be perfect.

So, the key is that let’s get the best practices that exists now and be flexible and be willing to do a version 2.0, a version 3.0; because trust me, I mess it up repeatedly and I then I go, “Ah! Should have thought about it. I learned something. ”

  • Let’s shift it,
  • Let’s tweak it, and
  • Let’s adjust it, and
  • Let’s make it better.

> That’s the key.

But we always want to look at it and say, “What are the best practices in this area right now?”

What are the best tools and the things that I can do to create a world class system so I can have a world class organization, so I can have a world class relationship with my team, my vendors and my customers.

And the other thing to think about is to build your systems for where you’re going. In other words, I want systems that can go grow with me. Now what I’m not saying is to go and buy all kinds of stuff that you don’t need. But within a range. If you’re going to get a system and put a system in place that you’re likely going to outgrow in six months, you probably want to do something different.

But then again, I don’t need you to go out and create some system that’s going to last for 10 years because the business and the industry and everything’s going to change too quickly. But can I put a system in place that’s going to grow with me for the next say, 2 to 3 years, and then we look at it to allow for that growth. So, I do want something built for where I’m going.

The second is that, the system needs to have a Single Outcome.

And if we, when we look at this and some of you have been in my trainings where I talk about Prime Indicators and what I want it to be is singularly focused. When I create a marketing system, that marketing system is to attract a specific customer; for a specific reason; for a specific product; for a specific unit.

It’s singularly focused because then we can measure it and do some things with it. So, your system is typically going to have a specific outcome focused on it.

It’s also going to have Singular Ownership.

Again, this is something that I talk about with the prime indicators is that: Someone, 1 person is absolutely responsible for the system.

  • For making sure that the system is being respected.
  • For making sure that the system is working as it should.
  • For reporting the results of that system.

Now, at the beginning it’s probably going to be you. But as you grow it’s likely not going to be you on a regular basis. You’re not going to own the system in the sense of doing it all the time.

  • You’re going to monitor it.
  • You’re going to keep tabs on it.
  • You’re going to get reports from it.

> But you’re not the one that is specifically responsible over time.

But at the beginning, in all likelihood, you’re going to be running everything and that’s just the way it is. Until, you start to get the cash flow and give you the latitude and the ability to put some systems in and what those systems are and we’re going to get…and when you put your systems in, I’m probably going to put systems in one of two places.

  1. Is what’s going to relieve the majority of your time while not giving up the CORE elements of value creation for your business. So, it’s that where I’ll start putting systems in first.
  2. And the other place I’ll probably put systems in is in the support functions.

Those that will relieve me from the details that probably aren’t value creation things like some of the record keeping, and some of the processing. If you’ve got physical products that you shipping out. I’m not in there doing shipping and receiving. I’m going to have someone else do that and I’m worried about something else or doing something else that is a higher value element.

Then the other thing is that, your systems need to be Simple. If they’re not simple, they’re not going to be followed. If they’re complex, convoluted, cumbersome; then they’re not going to be respected, they’re not going to be followed and so what’s the use in having a system that isn’t going to work?

The other thing is that you want it to be Documented. I want it to be documented because 1) If someone gets sick and they’re running that system, and I need someone to step in, I’ve got the documentation in place in a way that someone can follow it.

So, yeah it takes time to get things documented but it saves you just a boatload, a boatload of aggravation, frustration and expense on the backend if someone gets sick or decides to quit or something happens then you have a system in place that someone can pick up and run with or you can pick up and run with it.

So, we want it to be simple so they use it and they use it regularly and we want it to be documented so anyone can pick it up and start to run with it.

And the last piece is that it needs to be Measured & Rewarded.

In other words, the system has to be measurable because if it’s measurable then

  • We can manage the inputs.
  • We can manage the outputs.
  • We can manage the process.

So there needs to be something that is measurable.

For instance: If we’re talking about productivity and we’re doing an assembly line, if we turn around and we are measuring the output of that assembly line, they got a 100 units in this one shift out. Well we now manage it. We can adjust the system. Now all of a sudden they got a 110 units. That 10% increase makes a huge hit to the bottom line.

So, I need to be managing it. But I also want to reward for it. So, if they went from a 100 units to 110 units, their productivity went up. The system is working and the system is growing and it’s allowing us to be more profitable.

  • I want to reward for it.
  • I want to acknowledge them for it.
  • I want to incentivize them for running the system and doing it correctly and doing it better and better and better.

Remember, it’s about value creation so the team that’s working for me is creating more and more value then I want to give them more and more value in return. I want to take care of them. And I’m not talking about just monetary rewards. There’s a whole host of ways to make sure that your team is taken care of and that they feel rewarded in that context.

image

So, when you’re looking at a good system, I want to make sure it’s customer focused, that we’re focused on best practices. That it is focused on a single outcome and one person is responsible for running that system or responsible for making sure the system is running correctly and being respected. That it’s simple and documented and that is measured and rewarded.

When you bring those characteristics into a system, now you’ve got a system

  • That’s usable,
  • That’s feasible,
  • That’s valuable, and
  • That is going to shift and change your business.

> Which ultimately shifts and changes your life.

Because think about it. Just imagine for a moment that you have some systems in place

  • That give you freedom back.
  • That give you time back.
  • That allow you to go and say,

You know what, I got these systems in place and they’re working. They’re bringing in sales, they’re converting. The deliveries are going out; the products are going out. Customer service is being taken care of. The recordkeeping is taken care of.

And you look at your wife or your husband and you say, “Honey we’re taking 10 days off and we’re going on a cruise and we’re just going to disconnect.”

And it’s the systems that are going to allow you to do that. So, if we look at systems,

What are the key systems?

Now you may have others but these are the key systems that I think we need to think about as we’re growing our business. As I said, you don’t need all of these at one time to systematize them. You’re going to be doing all of these functions from day 1 but then we can build systems around them as we go.

So, if I have my business, the first system that I need to think about is my Attraction System.

This is a marketing system and when we say marketing, it’s not about business cards, it’s not about ads, it’s about a system to attract:

  • The right customers,
  • The right clients,
  • The right people.

> Into our sphere.

So, do you have, ask yourself: Do you have a client attraction system? A marketing system?

That’s really a system, a process that’s being done day-in, day-out on a regular basis. If it is sporadic then it’s not a system. If it’s sporadic then it’s a promotion at best. But what we need is a constant flow of people, of customers. We need to be constantly connected.

What’s your system and your process for doing that?

The second system that I think we need to think about is this Conversion System. When we attract them and we get their attention,

  • How do we convert them?
  • How do we shift them from interested to buyer?
  • How do we shift them from, “Hmm! Got their attention” to a client, to a customer, to a buyer.

So, do you have a conversion system in place?

A way to convert them. Now, you may have sales reps; it may be you doing one-on-one types of calls, evaluation calls, consultative calls; those types of things.

  • It may be meetings.
  • It may simply be a series of emails.
  • It may be a series of videos.
  • It could be a lot of different things.

But do you have that conversion process in place? A sales process in place?

The next I would say is your Delivery.

So, now I’ve got their attention. They’ve bought from me. But now I got to get it to them. These are your operating systems.

  • Is it shipping and receiving?
  • Is it done by a fulfillment house?

Do you got a, do you have to take a physical book like this and package it up and address it and take it to the post office. I have a system for this. I have a fulfilment house that when you place the order, the system kicks out the order to the fulfillment house and they take care of it for me. So, I don’t even see the orders coming in right away. I see the monthly reports and I keep tabs on it but as long as the system is delivering it properly and taking care of it properly, we’re okay.

So, attraction > conversion > delivery and then Connecting.

Now connecting, it’s really about a people system. Now, we have the marketing system which is really with the customers. This connecting I’m talking about with my vendors and my team and as well as the customers but most of my vendors and my team.

Because I need team members. My success is not going to be a solo pursuit. It’s going to be a team pursuit.

There’s a lot of people. The launch of this book; to be able to get this book to become a national #1 best-selling book, it took a group of people. It wasn’t me; I may have written it and even the writing of it was a team effort.

  • The marketing of it.
  • The delivery of it.
  • The customer service of it.

All of that, it was a team. I, probably, a dozen or more people have been involved in that process since we launched the book and I think that we need to realize that that’s important. That our, they call it in business speak, human resources but I think the human element of business is alive, it is well and it is probably the largest thing that we can nurture and cultivate in business is our people system, is our connection system in that process.

So,

  • Do you have one?
  • Do you have a way to evaluate people?
  • Do you have a way to support people?
  • Do you have a way to nurture people?
  • Do you have a way to coach people?
  • Do you have a way to bring people in?

So, once I have that then the last is the Tracking System. And I don’t mean last in the sense that it’s least important. I’m an accountant so I’m going to say, “You got to track it right from the get go”.

But if I’m not tracking it that means that I’m not measuring it.
If I’m not measuring it, I can’t manage it.
If I’m not managing it, I can’t improve it, I can’t monetize it.

So, this is your tracking:

  • Of your productivity.
  • Of your profits.
  • Of your cash flow.
  • Of all of the elements of your business

It’s accounting.
It’s data.
And it’s a necessary evil in business.

And I know many of the people that are probably watching this are creative types and they go, “Oh my god. Data and accounting, and columns and rows and numbers. I’m not a math person.”

I get it but this is the life’s blood of your business. This is what’s going to tell you whether you’re healthy and,

We got to get a check up on a regular basis.
We got to check the pulse on the patient on a regular basis.
We need to know what we’re doing, how we’re doing and why we’re doing it.
We need to track the numbers because the numbers don’t lie.

image

So, these are the five systems that I think at a minimum you’re going to need as you start to grow your business:

  1. An attraction system.
  2. A conversion system.
  3. A delivery system.
  4. A connection system.
  5. And a tracking system.

And when you build those systems with the six characteristics that we talked about earlier, now you’ve got some beautiful systems in place. You’ve got some great systems in place that will serve you, support you and allow you to start to give yourself more freedom to do the high value things that are

  • Meaningful in your business.
  • To grow that business.

To have a larger impact on:

  • Your customers,
  • Your clients, and
  • Your team as you move forward.

And it’s going to shift the things in your life over time. Because this is going to allow you to remove yourself from some of the functions and the details. So, you can have the freedom and the peace of mind to do the things that you really want to do with sharing life with those that are important to you; which is I think is really the ultimate is that through business. Remember, it’s about creating community serving society and living your dreams. So let’s create system that allow you to create community, serve society, and live your dreams.

So, I hope you found this of value and I hope that you’ll go out and examine some of the things that you’re doing, and look at things and say, “Are there systems that I could put in place that will leverage my time and give me some more time back to do the things that are more valuable either emotionally, financially or otherwise?” And do that.

And really take a hard look at it because you’ll be surprised when you start to build those systems how cost-effective it may be to put some systems in place for you to alleviate that process.

So, I hope you found this of value and if you did, do me a favor? Share it with a friend. I’d love to get some of this information out there and expand the reach and help people create what I call these micro economies, these micro entrepreneurs that are out there, making a difference, living a life that they design for themselves and they’re doing things their way.

And if you haven’t done so already, subscribe so you make sure that you get all the tools, all the tactics, all the strategies that I have as I’m giving these things to you on a regular basis. Every week I’m releasing new episodes, new information and I want to be your entrepreneurial mentor through The Entrepreneur Solution show and this is one of the ways.

And if you want to get the downloadable tool, template or guidebook from any episodes; for this episode for instance, go to MelAbraham.com/session035. You can download it. If you’re not at the computer and you can’t download it immediately, go ahead and text MYLEGACY one-word no-spaces MYLEGACY to 38470.

And if you have some questions about success, about wealth, about business, entrepreneurship, any of that, go to AskMelNow.com. Leave me your question. We’ll make sure we get it answered on one of the upcoming episodes.

So, I hope this serves you. I hope you go out and make a difference. I hope you go out and build it. I hope you go out and turn around and say, “How do I put systems in place and what systems should I put in place to allow me to live in a bigger way, to serve in a bigger way, and to have that bigger life that I deserve.”

And until we get a chance to see each other in the next episode,

May your vision be grand, may your journey be epic and your legacy significant!

See you soon. Cheers. Bye!!

— End Transcript —

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Like this? Please share it and help a few more people bring their dreams out of the darkness and give life to them again. Cheers, Mel

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