18 KEYS TO SUCCESS© Rick W Hogan 1/1/17

1. Focus on employee engagement & motivation. Implement pay for performance and profit sharing plans.

2. Right people in right place. Turnover is natural. Re-assign non-performers. Keep a stable for slack time.

3. Total compensation of the sales force should be at least 40% - 50% commission.

4. Pay higher or lower commission according to the profitability of each offering.

5. Focus on 100% customer satisfaction. Keep ratings 4.5+.(5/5 Survey, measure, analyze, shrink gaps)

6. Adjust product mix. Allow for focus, learning nuances. Don’t sell too many products that lose money.

7. Raise prices 3% today. 1% to greater good. Accrue profit on shipping & handling, lots of future goodwill.

8. Benchmark and measure results of all sales, marketing & employee engagement to determine true ROI.

9. Personalize the customer experience. (Know and document their preferences. Feel valued.)

10. Optimize the value of every super customer. (Sell the full-line, referrals, references, loyalty).

11. The market share leader tends maintain profit & dominance in market downturns.

12. Create strategic alliances with reputable organizations that lack our strengths and bring us new abilities.

13. BDP and Best Use of Tech. Maintain an e-Business global architecture (multi-language, multi-channel).

14. Think carefully and strategically whether to fight or embrace each form of competition. Are we facing a competitor we must fight or an overwhelming, market changing wave, we must embrace and adapt to.

15. Solicit key marketing alliances. Ex: Coors, Official Beer of NFL& Nascar –top 2 entertainment franchises.

16. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter makes us feel good. To get dopamine activated, quality product at a discount must be perceived.

17. Make your marketing so that a 10yo can understand it in 3-7 seconds while listening to loud music.

18. Be decisive. Rarely perfect but most solutions are adequate. Move on.