The Importance of The Operations Manual

At the heart of a systems-driven business is your company’s operations manual. The operations manual is the authoritative guidebook of how things are done in your business. It gives you an effective way of communicating policy and procedures, and gives your employees the independence and security they need to operate in their jobs for maximum results.

If you’re like most of us, you probably have a folder filed away at home that’s full of all the manuals for the various electronic devices in your household. When you need to know how to work your microwave or your television breaks, the first place you go for help is that folder. In your business, your operations manual acts in the same way. It serves as the single-point reference for all important company information. And when used properly, it’s not just a place to go to look for “fixes,” rather it’s the first thing employees familiarize themselves with so they know how things work, right from the start.

What’s in an Operations Manual?

Content will vary from business to business, but the structure of an operations manual is universal. It should be comprised of the following areas:

• Company History, Vision & Organization
• Products & Services
• Policies
• Position Statements
• Systems (Action Plans)

Your operations manual should essentially cover two main areas: companywide information that every employee in the organization needs to know and position-specific information.

The first three bullets in the list above (Company History, Vision & Organization, Products & Services and Policies) make up the portion of the manual that apply to everyone in the organization. They help people understand the “whole picture” including the organizational structure of the company, what you offer to your customers or clients and the general policies under which you operate.

The last two bullets (Position Statements and Systems) contain information specific to an individual position. Obviously the accountabilities of a CFO are different than that of a lab technician, so you’ll want to create operations manual for each position. Ultimately, you’ll have a manual for every position in your organization.

The Concept Of Value-Added Selling 10 Ways That You Can Add Value To Your Product Or Service

The concept of value-added selling has been a popular one for a number of years. In fact, I have
lots of friends who claim that they are the inventors of the concept known as value-added selling.
I guess that’s kind of like lots of people who claim to have invented the Internet!

The real issue, though, is that in today’s market place where so many products and services are
viewed as a commodity, the ability to add value to your product or service is an absolute
necessity. There is no doubt that in the absence of value-added components virtually any product
or service can be driven down to the most bottom line – price. The problem? When you are only
selling price you’ll never be able to sell any degree of high margin sales and that is where
profitability, long term growth and sales success resides.
Let’s take a look at 10 ways that you can add value to your product or service no matter
what it is you sell. Lots of times people argue with me by saying you don’t understand, my
product is different, or my service is different. The truth is that everything can have value-added.
So let’s go ahead and take a look at 10 specific ways that you can do it.