Stop for a second and ask yourself this question: “How fast am I?”I’m not talking about running the 100 meter dash; let’s leave that to the professional athletes. What I am talking about is speed to market. If you have ever worked at a bigger corporation or even read Business Week on a regular basis (in the politically correct world, ‘time to market’-ttm for short - is the commonly used term), you have heard this expression. But, what does speed to market REALLY mean for entrepreneurs? I think the intuitive answer is usually incomplete.
Think about this scenario: You own a small insurance agency and have a new marketing idea. You came up with this idea on your way to the office one morning after your 3rd cup of coffee. You ponder the implementation as you check your morning email. You run some parts of your idea by the two agents that work for you. They are both excited about the idea and on board to help you implement it. You think about implementation more as you finish your email and further convince yourself it’s a good idea. As lunch approaches, you attack the necessary tasks to keep your existing clients happy and keep new ones in the pipeline. The day ends with you thinking more about the idea as you drive home, but you are interrupted by a cell phone call from your administrative assistant, reminding you of your appointment in the morning.On your way to work the next day, you notice a billboard advertisement from a competitor. Your heart drops in your chest. Your competitor has just rolled out a campaign contains most of the elements that you were considering implementing. You keep driving, wondering when your next big idea will hit you.Speed. It can kill you or help you kill your competitors. He who hesitates is lost.
I have found that most businesses, large and small, take way too much time to market. Whether it’s a new product, a new service or a new marketing initiative, the length of time to market can be directly correlated to dollars lost. I have heard of companies where it can take over two months just to launch a simple direct mail campaign. Ouch. The talent, resources and technology are available in today’s business environment to execute quickly, efficiently and effectively. Time is Money.
For the entrepreneur, speed is one of your biggest assets. Most entrepreneurs operate businesses much smaller than their competitors. In a fight (especially the fight for dollars and market share) if you are smaller than you better be faster.
In the book Developing Products in Half the Time: New Rules, New Tools, by Preston G. Smith and Donald G. Reinertsen, the authors clearly state: “In this era of global competition and accelerating product life cycles, the need to get new products to market faster is more compelling than ever. What was once considered fast development is now commonplace.”
Now, take into perspective that this book was first published in 1991 and revised in 1998. How fast has the business world become since 1998? How much more do you have to be able to bring to the table for your customers and clients now than you did in 1998?Take a moment and do a ‘speed test’ on yourself. Make sure you stretch (your brain that is). Think back at the last three major things you tried to implement in your business or your life.
1. How long did it take you to get it ‘to market’?
2. What slowed it down (or sped it up)?
3. Do you notice any kind of a trend?
4. Could you move faster if you had to?How did you do? Are you an Olympic runner or do you have the speed of a 500 year old turtle on sedatives? If you were honest with yourself, I am willing to bet that you could get a lot faster if you really wanted to. Remember, you can correlate your bank account directly to the speed, efficiency and effectiveness with which you are able to implement your ideas.
Now, you probably won’t hit a home run every time. But, if you are fast, you can correct course quickly and get back on track.
Is speed killing you or are you using speed to kill?
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