Although keys reference multiple, above keys also apply to driving growth and success, i.e., in general, what is good for business is good for a sale, and vice versa. 

Note that strategy itself is listed above, plus underpin a number of keys; and having a strategy towards these keys, i.e., towards increasing value, is also imperative.

In Buy, Sell, or Grow – it’s all about Value!, (link) in the chapter mainly geared to growth, there is a Value Added Checklist. Although a checklist is just that, and not trying to promote the checklist here but rather presenting as food-for-thought, sample items tying to Strategy from the Value Added Checklist are:

Make a difference, plus business model (this set of questions is key) – What are the top one-to-three make-a-difference items about our business? About our revenues? About our profits? What are the key drivers? What do we really compete on? How can we improve or take advantage of that? Which customers, markets, and products make up eighty percent of our sales? Our profits?  What’s our business model? How simple? Effective? Innovative and possibly disruptive?

Customer needs – Who are our customers? What do they value? How do we increase that value? How do we know? Why do customers buy from us? Why not? What’s our market share? Trends? How are we externally (market) focused? Besides knowing our customers’ needs, how well do we know, add value, and sell through to our customers’ customers?

Competitive analysis/matrix – What are the competitive matrices? From the matrices, which are the real drivers? How do we stack up against top competitors? What’s the gap? What should we do to close gaps?  What’s our competitive advantage?

Targeting – What is our customer targeting criteria? Accountability to the criteria?

Branding – What’s our brand? Our promise?  How strong, consistent, and successful is it? Related, private label opportunities?

Relevancy and world presence – How will we stay relevant/useful in a fast-changing world? What would be lost if we disappeared? Related, what is our global strategy? Global marketing? 

Besides checking against prior page’s Keys to Increasing Multiple, perhaps a few summary questions requiring serious contemplation are: 

• Do we have a handle on what our business is? What our business can or should be? 
• What are the real drivers? What do we need to do to protect and sustain the drivers we’re strong at? What do we need to do to shore up or improve the value drivers where we’re not so strong?
• … In short, what’s our Strategy??

Beyond or related to Strategy, Rice & Associates works with client CEO’s and others towards:

• Confidant
• M&A
• Succession 
• Board member or Board advisory 
• Management organization design 
• Executive recruitment
• Compensation design – performance/incentive
• Governance and accountability – e.g., board and senior management responsibilities, key measures /results, key activities, and reporting or decision rights
• Individual leadership development