1.

Describe your position:

How long have you been at the company?
What was your previous position?
2. Describe your company as a person.
Gender:
Personality traits:
Character:
3. Describe your company as a football team. Who plays each position?
Owner:
General Manager:
Team Manager:
Quarterback:
Players:
3 a. Corporate structure: The following section is to force you to think through
the stucture of your organization. Fill in the boxes as appropriate. You may sp
lit the boxes to represent a different reporting structure, or create your own b
ox, but this is an excellent exercise for an entrepreneur serious about building
a bullet proof organization.
4. How do you explain your company to someone outside your industry (i.e. at a p
arty), keeping it as simple as possible.
Now describe your company in one sentence.
5. How do you explain your company to someone in the industry (i.e. to a potenti
al buyer
or client). This is the Company pitch NOT the product pitch (that next)
Products/Services
6. Describe the services you offer. This is the product/service pitch:
Benefits?
Advantages?
7. What does a client get when they buy your product/service?
8. What products/services do clients want that you do not offer?
9. Why must a prospect buy your product or service?
What would make it irresistible?
10. Describe your competition. (Use above criteria; Rate each on a scale from 1-
10) on:
Competitor s Name Product Sales Ability Marketing Ability Customer Service
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Now rate your company:
6)
11. Where do you see your industry in five years?
12. Where will your company be in five years? Chart year by year growth includin
g the initiatives necessary to accomplish your goals. List financial goal and th
en the initiatives
Financial goal Initiatives to achieve it
Year one
Year two
Year three
Year four
Year five
Sales Activity/Rep Productivity: Use this as a way to measure, evaluate the pers
on/people responsible for making sales:
13. Describe the typical sales cycle to close a sale, from generating the lead t
hrough to a close:
A) How many contacts to sell?
B) Description of typical clients.
C) Length of cycle from initial contact to close?
D) Number and type of competitors involved.
E) How many different people do you usually meet with to close a sale?
14. Describe the full effort to prospect (list every way you have of generating
a prospect).
15. How many customers/clients do you have now in your database?
16. How many dream clients are there (the absolute most perfect clients, that 20%
that would drive 80% of your sales)?
A) Of those, how many do you have now?
B) How many total potential clients altogether?
17. What are the most frequent objections you hear?
18. If you target 10 prospects, how many will you close? (Closing ratio)
19. What do you do with the prospects you don t close?
20 How do your closing ratios fare against competitors?
21. How else does your customer get the product you supply?
22. Describe five of your most typical purchasers:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
23. What are the top three reasons that you lose business to a competitor?
24. What are the top three reasons that a prospect would do nothing at the end o
f the sales cycle?
25. What is the follow-up with a client after they buy?
26. Do you ask for referrals, and how?
27. Describe the typical buying structure (what is your clients process to a dec
ision? What are the factors that they will contend with; When and how does money
come into the picture? What s their buying criteria; The factors effecting a deci
sion? And anything else involved in the decision process?):
28. With how many clients are you dealing with the top decision maker (not eh pe
rson who has to go to someone else to get approval, but the person who ultimatel
y makes the decision (give percent%):
29. With how many of your clients do you have a strong relationship with top dec
ision maker?
29 a) List three things you could do to strengthen your relationship?
1)
2)
3)
30. How are salespeople compensated?
31. What are the standards for hiring salespeople?
32. What kind of training is currently being offered?
Sales training?
32 a. What would make the sales training excellent?
32 b. Product training?
32 c. What would make the product training excellent?
33. Account management training?
33 a. What would make the account management training excellent?
34. Time management training?
35. How often is training provided?
36. What are the procedures for training people?
37. What is the turnover rate for salespeople?
38. How often do you send clients interesting information that is not about your
product but could be relevant to them or their business?
39. How much outbound phone calling effort (to generate prospects) is made per d
ay?
Average rep?
Best rep?
40. How many appointments set per day, week, month?
Average rep?
Best rep?
41. How many active outlets serviced at any given time?
Average rep?
Best rep?
42. How many prospects contacted per 100 efforts made?
Average rep?
Best rep?
43. How many letters sent out per day, week, month?
Average rep?
Best rep?
44. How many brochures distributed per day, week, month?
Average rep?
Best rep?
45. How many introductory presentations made per day, week, month?
Average rep?
Best rep?
46. How often is there follow-up with? Every day, week, month, year?
Average rep?
Best rep?
47. How often is your company in touch with clients as a corporate initiative, n
ot something the depends on the mood or skills of an individual rep?
48. How many proposals per week/month?
49. Number of hot prospects at any given time (pipeline)?
50. Number of warm prospects?
51. Number of cold prospects?
Marketing
52. Describe the company s marketing philosophy.
53. What is the marketing theme or slogan?
54. What is the staff s attitude toward marketing?
55. Marketing Weapons:
Do you buy advertising (if not describe what you COULD/MIGHT be doing)?
How often do you buy?
What sources do you use?
What is the theme of the campaign?
What do you want the campaign to accomplish?
Describe its effectiveness.
Do you have promotion pieces covering important sales points. If so how many?
What are some examples?
What promotion ideas do you have? Think of three themes right now that would mak
e good headlines for promotional pieces that pitch/sell/persuade on one particul
ar aspect of what you sell:
56. Do you have a PR effort? If so, what does it consist of?
Who is responsible for PR?
How does the press view your company?
57. Describe your direct-mail efforts?
58. Do you have a brochure/media kit?
How is it used?
What message is the brochure trying to communicate?
59. How do you educate your clients?
Do you provide seminars?
Attend trade shows?
Newsletters?
Sponsor events?
Clients
60. How do clients perceive your industry?
How do clients perceive your company?
Your competitors?
61. Describe your most satisfied customer:
Describe your ideal client relationship?
62. Describe a situation where you were able to turn an unhappy client into a ha
ppy one.
63. What do clients say about your company?
64. What could you do/offer to make your clients say, Wow ?
65. Do you have a database?
Profile (what are the factors by how you can sort)?
Format?
66. List your last five year s sales gross sales and approximate profits (pre-tax)
.
Last Year
Year before
Year before
Year before
Year before
67. Indicate all costs of sales.
68. List all overhead factors, showing breakdowns of what the overhead includes.
69. What are your year-to-date sales levels?
70. Where does most of your business come from (describe for each category below
)?
a. Product or service (which products or services drive the most revenue?)
b. Category of customer (which category/type of customer drives the most revenue
?)
b. Geography (Is there a particular region that is more fruitful?
71. Describe every successful advertising, selling or marketing program you have
engaged in
for the last three years that has worked.
How many of these that have worked have you continued, and how many were more of
a one shot
promotion?
72. Do you have a marketing budget?
What is it?
How is it allocated?
How has it been used in the past?
73. What strategic alliances, if any, do you have or have you ever had?
How did they fare and how did they effect your business?
74. Who stands to gain more than you if you grow, i.e.., people who have product
s or
services that are purchased after your products or services arc purchased, or co
ncurrent to
the purchase?
75. Who are your suppliers or other providers of products or services that benef
it
massively when you are successful?
76. Describe all you know about your competitors:
Who arc the top three.
77. Where are they located?
78. What do they do best?
79. What do they do worst?
80. Describe as much as possible about their selling approaches, their selling s
trategies, their infrastructures, etc.
81. What products or services do people normally buy prior to, in conjunction wi
th and right
after your product is purchased.
82. What are the goals of the owner:
83. Describe exactly who the owner or owners are.
84. What is the power structure? (For example, I owned a business but I was neve
r there and
I deferred to my manager.) We want to know whether it s hands on, hands off, who r
uns
things, what kind of turf or political environment we re dealing with, who are the
decision makers.
85. Who are the key people involved in the initiatives that will develop out of
this PEQ process?
86. Explain, realistically, how much more business you can add without having to
add any
more people, equipment, service or space.
87. Give an assessment of the transactional implication your product or service
has in the end
-user s life. In other words, if, because someone has your product or service, the
y save $400 a month forever on electricity, we want to know what that is. If you r
e a real estate person and you put someone in a greater lifestyle and get them a
house they can appreciate, list all the factors you think you impact when a sal
e is made.
88. What is the operating philosophy that the business has been built on?
89. What people, what books, what life factors have influenced and impacted the
person who is answering this questionnaire.
90. What do you really want from your business? Do you want to become filthy ric
h? Do you want it to become a turnkey money machine? Do you want to position and
maneuver it for ultimate sales? What are your goals?
91. Explain where all your time is being spent versus where it should be spent.
92. How much of your business comes from referrals?
93. Go through all 30 of the standard options in the Three Ways to Grow a Busines
s
Model and tell us what you do. In other words, do you have a referral program? If
 the
answer is no explain why. If the answer is yes, describe how it works, what you
do.
Include all the details. (See Attachment 1 3O Standard Options. )
94 Describe your training, your interests, and your hobbies. What do you do when
you re
not at the office, and why?
95. Describe your family. Are you married? Are you divorced? How many children?
How
is your health?
96. What is your greatest life achievement?
97. What one thing, more than anything else, do you want to accomplish in this b
usiness
before you get out?
98. Go through all 30 of the standard options in the Three Ways to Grow a Busines
s
Model and tell us what you do. In other words, do you have a referral program? If
the
answer is no explain why. If the answer is yes, describe how it works, what you
do.
Include all the details. (See Attachment 1 3O Standard Options. )
ATTACHMENT 1
30 STANDARD OPTIONS
I. METHODS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF CLIENTS OR CUSTOMERS
The number of clients can be increased by increasing the lead or inquiry generat
ion, increasing the client retention rate, and by increasing the conversion from
inquiry to sale. Please evaluate and improve your process in the below listed a
reas. So if you are not doing something in the given area, write what you could
be doing o how you can improve what you are currently doing:
Increasing your lead or inquiry generation through:
1. Referral Systems
2. Acquiring Customers At Break-Even Up Front And Making A Profit On The Back-End
3. Guaranteeing Purchases Through Risk Reversal
4. Host-Beneficiary Relationships
5. Advertising
6. Using Direct Mail
7. Using Telemarketing
8. Running Special Events Or Information Nights
9. Acquiring Qualified Lists That More Effectively Target Your Prospect Increasi
ng The Perceived Value Of Your Product/Service Through Better Client Education
Increasing your customer retention rate by:
1. Delivering Higher-Than-Expected Levels Of Service
2. Communicating Frequently With Your Customers To Nurture Them
Increasing your conversion from inquiry to sale by:
1. Increasing Sales Skill Levels Of Your Staff
2. Qualifying Leads Up Front
3. Making Irresistible Offers
4. Educating Your Clients By Giving Them The Reasons Why
II. METHODS TO INCREASE THE AVERAGE TRANSACTION AMOUNT
To increase the average transaction value, you can focus on:
1. Improving Your Team s Selling Techniques To Effectively Up-Sell And Cross-Sell
2. Using Point-Of-Sale Promotions
3. Packaging Complementary Products And Services Together
4. Increasing Your Pricing And Hence Your Margins
5. Changing The Profile Of Your Products Or Services To Be More Up Market
6. Offering Greater/Larger Units Of Purchase
III. METHODS TO INCREASE YOUR TRANSACTION FREQUENCY
To increase transaction frequency, you can focus on:
1. Developing A Back-End Of Products That You Can Go Back To Your Customers With
2. Communicating Personally With Your Customers (By Telephone, Letter, Etc.) To
Maintain A Positive Relationship.
3. Endorsing Other People s Products To Your Customer Base
4. Running Special Events Such As Closed Door Sales , Limited Pre-Releases, Etc.
5. Programming Customers
6. Price Inducements For Frequency
ATTACHMENT 2
STRATEGIC PLANNING QUESTIONNAIRE
What initially got you started in your business? What motivation, occurrence, et
c.?
When you first started, how did you attract your first customers (what process,
method or action did you use)?
Why did customers originally buy from you?
Why do customers buy from you now?
What ongoing sales efforts do you personally perform today? What sales functions
did you perform when you started your business?
What are you most proud of about your business, product or service?
If you had a magic wand, would you rather attract more new customers or garner m
ore money from your existing customers, and why?
How have your methods for doing business, or the product(s) or service line(s) y
ou market, changed since the inception of your business?
What is your vision for your business for the next:
6 months
1 year
3 5 years
10 years
What is your biggest opportunity to achieve this vision?
What is your greatest strength and is it consistent with this opportunity?
What is your greatest problem or weakness in achieving this vision and what s the
solution?
What are your sales per employee? Is that above, below, or equal to your industr
y average and what are the steps you are taking (or going to take) to improve it
?
What s the lifetime value of your typical customer (i.e. how much revenue will he/sh
e generate for you over the entire period he/she does business with your company
)?
What is the biggest customer complaint about your industry and how does your com
pany address this problem?
Do you buy from your competitors to keep track of what they re doing right and wro
ng?
Explain how these insights have helped you refine and better focus your overall
business strategy.
Do you actively seek information from experts in your field and other fields rel
ated to yours? Explain:
When was the last time you introduced a new product or service to your market (b
oth existing customers and prospects), how well did it work, and what was the re
ason?
What is your Unique Selling Proposition or USP (why do your customers buy from y
ou what is it about your product and/or service that distinguishes you from your
competition)? You may have more than one for different product/service lines or
segments of your business.
Is your USP a consistent theme in all of your marketing and sales efforts? If ye
s, how, and if no, why not?
How much of your time each month do you devote to marketing and how much will yo
u devote in the future?
Do you have a marketing director? If so, describe his/her primary responsibiliti
es and duties?
Do you provide incentive bonuses to your employees for creating new and better m
arketing methods for your company? Explain.
What s your market potential (universe) and your current share of that market (%)?
What are the ways you have attained your existing customers (from best to worst)
?
1.
2.
3.
4.
other
What does it cost you to get a new customer? (e.g. if you ran an advertisement t
hat costs $1,000 and you attained two new customers it would be $500.)
What is the average sales and profits generated from a new customer in the first
year and how is that information useful in your overall marketing strategy?
What is your biggest and best source of new business and are you doing everythin
g possible to secure this business? If no, why not?
What has been your biggest marketing success to date (defined as a specific prom
otion, advertising campaign, telemarketing script etc.) and are you still using
it or a version of it?
Do you have a systematic back-end (selling your own or others products to existin
g customers)? Describe how it works.
If you had as much money as you wanted, what would you do to improve your market
ing (i.e. what is your biggest marketing problem or challenge today)?
If you had as much money as you wanted, what would you do to improve your produc
t or service and what impact would that have on your customers?
Do you have a written marketing plan that you adhere to? If so, explain it.
Is the plan based on a fixed budget number (e.g. $1000 per month in the yellow p
ages), or is it a variable percentage of sales?
Why do customers buy from you? Do they buy from you exclusively or do they also
patronize your competitors? What steps can you take to get the main portion of t
heir business?
Do you have an adequate supply of customer testimonials and is there a system in
place for their capture?
Are they written or taped, and how are they (or will they be) used in your marke
ting?
Do you actively solicit referral business? If so, how does it work and if not, w
hy not?
Have you ever tried to reactivate your former customers and non-converted prospe
cts? Explain.
Have you ever tried selling your non-converted prospects to your competitors? Ex
plain.
Do you ever barter your products, services, or assets with other companies in ex
change for their products, services or assets? If not, do you see barter possibi
lities in the future? Explain.
Do you use bonuses in all your sales/marketing propositions, and how did it affe
ct the response?
Do you use risk-reversal in your marketing propositions? Explain its effectivene
ss:
What kind of guarantee or warranty do you give your customers and how does it co
mpare with your competitors or with the industry at large?
How do you capture the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all your customers
and prospects? Do you then use them in your marketing programs?
What is your selling season, if any, and are you actively looking to sell other
complimentary products or services during the slower periods? If so, how do they
interrelate?
How loyal are your customers? Is that normal, high, or low relative to your indu
stry and what is the reason? How can it be improved?