The Courier Shop

No great surprise there. Last summer (2008) many couriers and hauliers struggled to keep their costs down and their businesses viable. Every week brought tales of companies folding and closing their doors for good.

For any transport company, their biggest expenditure is fuel. The UK has lots of regulation regarding road safety and the vehicles have all sorts of tests to remain compliant and legal. With the recession still biting transport businesses will really start to suffer. Increasing fuel costs will wipe out any profit margin and lead to job losses. It may lead to some less than ethical companies cutting back on safety and driving vehicles that are not roadworthy.

This also means that the cost of goods will increase in the shops, so the average families food bills will increase leading to cuts being made in their budgets elsewhere. For those that drive for a living, it becomes really tough. Taxi drivers have been telling me how quiet they have been for months, increased fuel prices will mean they also have to put their prices up. Getting a cab to the station will become a luxury many can no longer afford. Taxi driver now joins the dole queue.

Many business people have told me how fortunate they are to be ‘not affected’ by the recession, my question is if the fuel reaches the lofty heights of £1.30 a litre again will it affect you then?

Batten down the hatches people – the recession, job cuts and losses are not over yet. Times are still tough for many small businesses.

Sarah

Twitter for Couriers

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It’s been a while since we addressed the subject of getting paid for work done and services provided, yet that subject is probably closer to the hearts of many a small business owner than ever before in these recession-hit times, when:

• Companies big and small are ‘going to the wall’
• Even good, established customers are taking longer to pay
• Cash isn’t flowing as it was even 6 months ago
  1. Be prompt in chasing – you’ve provided the service or product
  2. You are entitled to the money by the agreed time
  3. The longer you leave it to chase your money, the further down the queue you’ll go when the cheques do get written out
  4. Speak initially to the Decision Maker who bought from you – three reasons for this:

  This is the person who values the purchase

  This is the person with whom you are building an ongoing business relationship

  In short, this person has a vested interest in keeping you sweet – don’t know about you but I can remember numerous occasions standing over Financial Directors and making them write out a cheque after ‘getting it in the neck’ from a totally fed up supplier!

  5. Don’t back down – be prepared to state your case to the top man or woman
  6. Be pleasant but firm – no-one wins if a slanging match is allowed to develop

So let’s have a quick update:

The telephone can be your best friend – a very useful tool in chasing money, second only to presenting yourself at the customer’s premises, so keep lines of communication open!

Over to you and best of luck!


Linda Mattacks is the author of a series of training courses available at SellingForBusiness.co.uk developed to provide easily accessible training for small businesses who are not in a position (or may not want) to take time out to attend formal training sessions.

More than 40% of small firms want more support to survive the recession, according to research by Lloyds TSB Commercial.

• Two thirds of firms put advice on controlling cost top of the agenda
• 60% want advice on attracting customers
• 44% want help on how to keep them

So we had a quick look around the guides on website and watched the customer video.
And it’s the Lloyds TSB customer (business owner) input that’s really down to earth:

• Keep your name out there
• Bring the customers in
• Look at your sales figures weekly not monthly or quarterly
• Keep in close contact with everyone to avoid nasty surprises: Bank Manager, Accountant, Suppliers, Customers
• Provide value for money: Maintain quality and standards
• Don’t be too inward looking
• Keep a keen eye on budgeting, planning and cash flow
• Tighten credit management – it’s often not necessarily bad debt but too slow payers
• When you get your customers look after them: Understand their problems

We’ve picked up on the final point we’ve listed from the video and the fact that many small firms want help on how to keep customers.

Lloyds TSB has a Guide on Market Research. They’re right to have it up there yet we believe they’re wrong not to put it into perspective as, in our experience, small firms tend to see this is as questionable expenditure in good times, let alone in a recession.

Focus groups need an experienced facilitator and should probably be outsourced to a company that knows its stuff – once you’ve decided on what the purpose is and that focus groups are the best way to achieve it.

On the other hand, telephone market research is something many small businesses can do themselves with a little thought and preparation. And the good news is, if you provide good products or services, you should find that your customers are happy to help you.

Linda Mattacks is the author of a series of training courses available at SellingForBusiness.co.uk developed to provide easily accessible training for small businesses who are not in a position (or may not want) to take time out to attend formal training sessions.