New Puppy and Focus (or not)

My new puppy is intrigued by every leaf, acorn, pile of moss, and stump in the East Woods. Any attempt at walking a straight line is thrown off by spontaneous lunges toward new, apparently life-altering odors and smells. This constant deviation from a (hoped for) simple walk along a path reminds me of some of the companies I spoke with at this week’s Eastern Analytical Symposium. Though seemingly well-intentioned in their path, they nevertheless seem to sometimes chase opportunities without discernment.

This ragged walk towards growth and prosperity is common for companies in the early stages of having new technology in the marketplace. Companies large and small often need to explore a range of applications to determine which will be the most prolific in terms of customers and profits. However, there comes a time when the exploration needs to end and a much more focused attack needs to take over. This critical turning point happens in all successful companies and does not happen in those that muddle through with good enough results or those that just go away.

Though puppy-like ramblings are fun and exciting for companies, they tend to not be efficient and do not scale well.

• Each sale is a new process with new customer types and new support requirements
• The med-chem customer does not care that the petroleum customer likes your product
• The diagnostics customer wants 1 green button on the product and the academic researcher wants more buttons

It is impossible to address all these needs and to do it well; so you have to pick which things you will do and, more importantly, not do with your limited resources. When you seem to be putting in more effort and achieving the same results, it is time to make your choices. Here are a few tips that will help you select your preferred directions.

• Start with a review of your sales to date in terms of applications, buying processes, time to close, and selling price. Also look at the after-sales support requirements as these can sometimes cripple an organization if too liberally sprinkled about in the name of getting the sale.
• With the top few segments, then determine if you see how to get to a larger market share in a big enough marketplace.
• You then need to make conscious decisions about where you will focus and where you will only take business that comes with little effort (or just say no)
• The final part is the hardest – you then need to get your organization lined up to this new way of working. Sometimes this is very difficult if the people have grown up in an entrepreneurial environment where creativity in obtaining customers is a hard-wired approach.

So though Miles the puppy truly enjoys his romps hither and dither, this approach will cause nearly any organization to eventually grind to a halt. Try to ignore some of the interesting mosses and sticks along the way, and get your organization focused on the areas that will enable it to grow and prosper.