The mirror test unifies basic business principles with common sense. This book outlines very basic business principles that must be examined by business owners. If you are new to business, this book may benefit you.
Why is this important to me?
I do not want to waste your time. In business, either you grow profitably or you die, there is no balance. That is the true test of “Proof of Life”. Jeffrey has real business experience. Several books will talk about high level strategy, mission statements, vision that is important, but when the rubber meets the road, he has to pay the bill.
If you’ve never had people responsibility, I can tell you personally that worrying about payroll when money is tight is very stressful. When the cash flows, you run the business. When the cash isn’t flowing, the business handles you.
The mirror test is divided into three main parts. Due to time constraints, I will touch on certain sections within each part. I have outlined several books that talk about Passion, Leadership and Focus. In this summary I will outline the three parts that have to do with business tactics.
1. Say no to low prices: can you compete with Wal-Mart? No, I can’t either. If your business value proposition is price, then you are slowly dying. There is nothing worse than competing to the bottom to commodify your market. The purpose of a business is to get a customer and create value for stakeholders. If you compete on price and expect to be low, then there are several problems, including: One, you don’t know how to sell value. Two, you’re not building a business that can later be sold for true value, and three, you’re buying a job. The goal of a business is to provide customer value at a PROFIT. If you fear profit or think it’s a dirty word, go work for someone else.
2. Value: We now know better than to undersell, so you can ask us how we create value. This requires some thought and is exactly why there are so many fringe deals on the market today. Here are three things you can do to set its value:
has. Examine your product, delivery, service and differentiate yourself from your competition. We did this at our enterprise software company and developed what’s called DSS Direct Advantage. Simply put, we proactively manufacture, sell, service and support customers directly without going through other reseller companies. This is unique in our market and provides us with direct customer contact and control.
b. Control your message. Do you have a unique selling proposition? If not, then create one. If you remove your company name and your pitch sounds like: “We are the best lowest cost widget provider and I will do a good job for you.” You can work for any of your competitors and say the same. This is not a unique value proposition.
against Educate your prospects and customers through thought leadership. This is the golden egg to create real value. The knowledge locked into your business is second nature to you, but NOT to your prospects. You must outline the value of knowledge and take it forward. This will establish you as an expert in your field and people will come to you.
3. Sell it: Are you comfortable presenting in front of groups? If not, then get over the fear and acquire the skill. This is the single greatest asset you can get to profitably grow your business. If you create value and become a thought leader, you will be asked to present and clients will ask you to work with them. This is a far cry from cold calling and forced sales. I can tell you this requires quite a bit of up-front work, but the payoff is market leadership.
The mirror test has a good content of common sense. I took a little break from the book to outline three key points that will help your business succeed. Remember that Execution is critical today because the business environment is tough.
I hope you found this short summary useful. The key to any new idea is to work it into your daily routine until it becomes a habit. Habits are formed in as little as 21 days. One thing you can take away from this book is thought leadership. Schedule 30 minutes each day for the next 30 days to work on material that will add value to your customers. Examples of these are videos, eBooks, and white papers on benefits and definitions of industry terms. If you approach this with the customer in mind, then the success of your business will change for the better.