ght (c) 2009 Dr Mark Yates
If you had asked me 10 years ago, to name the top business gurus in the UK I would have struggled. Ask anyone today and they will no doubt name members of the dragons den or the apprentice which has brought mainstream business celebrities into households via terrestrial and cable TV.
As popular as the dragons den panel members are, they should not be confused with any of the top business gurus, because they are actually business entrepreneurs, and not business gurus.
Before I begin to explain my concept of Business Guru Growth Strategies I feel it worthwhile outlining the definition of a business guru.
Dictionaries generally agree that a guru is someone who others regard as having advanced knowledge and wisdom about a specific area or subject matter. Attaining advanced knowledge often requires many years of training and practice before becoming accepted as a teacher and then as an authority in your specialised field. The power of knowing how to transfer this knowledge into helping others is a gift. When one considers the subject matter of this article, i.e. how the International business guru Dr. Mark D. Yates outlines business guru growth strategies, we need to look how passing on years of experience and business knowledge accumulated over 30 plus years of working in 42 different countries. My business guru growth strategies have helped small, medium and large businesses expand, grow and prosper across 4 continents.
When contemplating appointing a guru it is worthwhile conducting in-dept business research to identify which particular type of business guru you actually require. For example if your small business is struggling because you don’t have a brand or a marketing plan, then you really don’t need a sales guru from a large multi-national corporate background. What you actually need is a marketing guru from a small business guru background. Don’t be blinded with waffle from any business guru who informs you they are a one stop shop guru guru, because there is no such concept. Real business gurus specialise in one particular area of business. Occasionally they may pick up useful skills from other sectors which will help them in delivering business development skills, but they are unlikely to have amassed the lifetime skills required to be considered a professional business guru in other disciplines.
Engaging the services of a marketing guru can result in reaping huge dividends. Frequently you may find that like a business consultant your marketing guru may call upon the professional services of other business gurus to help them turbo-charge your company branding and business growth. It is not therefore unusual to see a marketing guru, a brand guru, a advertising guru, a sales guru, a change guru and a management guru all working together on the same business branding project. These additional business gurus are generally hired in on a, ‘as and when required’ basis.
If a business has hit the financial tipping point, then you require the services of a management guru and a change guru to help you identify realistic strategies to push your business beyond the tipping point. A change guru usually comes armed with a raft of business development ideas which he offers to the management guru to implement. If your business is a one man band or a relatively small business, then it’s unlikely you will employ a management guru on full time retainer. It’s far more prudent to hire in the expertise of a small business guru who can work closely with you.
In relation to building your business brand and then promoting your business branding your small business guru will have the initial skills to recognise what kind of information you will require to engage these particular business gurus.
A brand guru and an advertising guru typically work under the leadership of a management guru. A team like this can be a very formidable asset to your business development and growth. The brand guru begins by working with the business owner to identify a memorable business brand which will easily convert to sales once the advertising guru produces a targeted marketing plan and business branding and marketing campaign.
Of course building a business brand is the first step to take after you’ve identified what your brand needs to achieve. This should then be followed up by creating an awareness of your business branding, which can be achieved off-line or online to reduce your marketing and promotional costs. Once there is a market awareness of your business brand then you will need a dynamic, sales guru to proactively close the deals that filter through.
In reference to the Dr. Mark D. Yates outlines Business Growth Strategies, if ever you hear the phrase guru guru while researching for a quality business guru, run a million miles away. In business parlance, the expression guru guru is used to describe a cowboy practitioner or a chancer, i.e. someone who is bluffing their way into the business guru sector.
The current economic downturn has seen an increase in the provision of business guru growth strategies being delivered into the business to business sector. It has become almost trendy and cool for business directors and owners to inform people they have their own business guru. I even heard a whisper recently that an online business forum, called ask guru is due to be launched online. I would hazard a guess that business owners suffering in the current credit crunch would find an ask guru service invaluable.
Top business gurus are in demand and business guru rates and fees are generally pitched slightly higher than a generalist business consultant. However don’t discount this valuable service based on that fact alone. Your initial due diligence should have identified a top notch business guru who provides far more value than cost.
Moves are underway to identify business gurus in the UK business to business market. The intention is to compile a definitive list of the top 50 business gurus. No doubt there will be a mad rush from business gurus to feature in any prestigious top 50 business gurus listing.
I heard a business strategy guru comment that the list needs to feature the top UK 200 business gurus because the advances in cyber technology has led to a surge in internet gurus. That’s right in no time at all the business world has gone from zero to hero with a forthcoming listing of the top 200 business gurus
Your awareness of gurus should not be swayed after watching the recent Hollywood film DVD release titled The Love Guru. This was clearly a Micky take on what we call guru guru as the lead character was obviously bluffing his way through as a love sex guru. Nor should you pay any attention to the soundtrack which featured guru lyrics.
Whatever your opinions are of business gurus, it looks like business gurus are here to stay.
Dr. Mark D. Yates The International Business Guru & Growth Consultant grows businesses fast in a long term sustainability method. His dynamic business model delivers exponential growth, increased turnover & profit margins. He delivers business support to small, medium & large businesses in 42 countries. To claim his FREE business case files visit him at => http://www.businessconsultancyonestopshop.com or e-mail him at drmarkdyates@aol.com
