Getting to the Pointe

From Walls to Success

2010-11-20T19:07:00.000-08:00

As another year rapidly comes to a close it is once again time to access your performance. If you are like me, I'm sure 2010 may read like the famous Clint Eastwood movie, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly".

Most likely there were highs and lows, good times and bad. That is just the way life goes. My key to describing a successful year is having the good times far outweigh the bad and completely forgetting the ugly times all together.

The past few years have no doubt been challenging, but 2010 offered that proverbial 'light at the end of the tunnel'. The worst is truly behind us as long as you have the right frame of mind that the best is yet to come. While these may sound like a bunch of clichés (because they are) the only thing that really matters is faith in what the future may hold.

Positive energy produces positive results, while negativity destroys not only your heart but your soul as well. I personally can attest to this as fact, having battled wall after wall just to scratch and scrape myself to a level of cautious optimism. From there I achieved a small level of success. I was fortunate to take that small level of success and build upon it to reach a level of success that I never dreamed possible.

The one constant though this whole process has been faith, faith in God and faith in the plan that he has for me. If you can stay true to this, the possibilities in this world are endless.

Analyzing Your Website's Performance

2010-03-09T14:49:00.000-08:00

For just about anyone in business today a properly designed website is one of the most important marketing tools needed to successfully grow your business. Society is rapidly switching to the Internet as their primary form of researching a company's product or service and formulating their purchasing decisions based soley on what they uncover.

You can spend thousands of dollars on your website design but if you have no way of analyzing search data, you will have no idea what kind of return on investment it will provide.

There are plenty of website design companies that tell you they can help analyze your search data but their is only one company that actually specializes in it. ROI Analytics helps you harness the power of the Internet by providing the necessary system that will track every aspect of how your site is being searched. The best part about it all is that ROI Analytics is willing to show you what they can do for you and your company's marketing effort before a single dime comes out of your pocket by offering a free trial of their state of the art search system.

Their ROI software offers a multitude of reports that will provide you with a thorough understanding of how your website is being searched and by whom. It takes all the guess work out of wondering if your marketing message is cutting through to your core consumer.

The best way to get started is the visit ROI Analytics to see for yourself how easy it is to start maximizing your website's return on investment today.

The Power of Promotional Products

2010-01-30T07:36:00.000-08:00

In these difficult economic times, business owners are always looking for ways to trim their budget in order to control the cost side of the company. One area that inevitably gets slashed to the extreme is sales and marketing. This decision is actually counterproductive to weathering a down turn in business as in the long run it will most likely cost you additional sales down the road.

One way to approach the situation is to thoroughly examine all of your current marketing programs to determine which ones are causing a lift in sales and which ones are just money down the drain. One powerful tool to help guarantee a solid return on your investment are promotional products. In a recent study conducted by the Advertising Specialty Institute it was found that promotional products out performed nearly every other type of advertising, including TV, radio, and print in terms of Cost Per Impression (CPI). It also discovered that certain items have much better staying power, keeping your company’s products or service top of mind much longer than a .30 second radio spot.

One of the primary goals of a promotional product is to create impressions with your target market. Just like any good advertising campaign repetition creates familiarity which in turn increases the probability a consumer will reward you with their business. The study went on to identify the items that created the highest number of impressions. The following numbers are based on a monthly basis.

Tote bags: 1,038
Caps/Hats: 476
Shirts: 365
Writing Instruments: 363
Desk Accessories: 294
Glassware/Ceramics: 251
Calendars: 227
Other Apparel: 64

Do not underestimate the promotional power of a logoed bag. The study found that bags are the most frequently used apparel item in the promotional world. It was determined that on the average a bag was used over nine times per month. Caps/Hats were second; averaging six times, followed by shirts which averaged five times.

The key thing to remember when planning your next promotional product campaign is that people tend to hold onto things that are useful. The longer it stays in their possession the more exposure that item will generate; providing an excellent return on your investment.

Four Basic What's for the New Year

2010-01-07T16:32:00.000-08:00

As we begin yet another New Year it offers us the chance to reflect back on the past and plan ahead for the future. Looking back I am sure you will find some things that went well and some things that did not. You may want to go as far as making a list of accomplishments and failures in an effort to build on your success and learn from your mistakes. As a suggestion for review maybe you want to examine these four “what’s” as an exercise for improvement.

What should I be doing more of?

This would be the category where you put all of things that “moved the dial” for you in the past; the cause and effect of success so to speak. Did you meet a contact from networking that generated new business? Did having a written plan of attack keep you focused? Did taking a closer look at expenses uncover some savings? Whatever they were, make it a priority to incorporate more of these productive activities into your daily routine.

What should I be doing less of?

This would be the category for all your non productive activities or as one colleague of mine once put it “organizing your sock drawer.” Everyone has house keeping chores that need to get done, but do not let them become the center of attention or take up more time than they absolutely have to. If an activity is not directly related to either servicing an existing customer or finding some new ones it needs to be minimized as much as possible.

What should I do differently?

This would be the category for change. These are not things that should be eliminated rather examined and tweaked as to turn a negative into a positive. Just because you tried something and it failed does not mean you should give up. It may simply mean you need to take a different approach to the subject in an effort to positively impact the outcome. Where do you think expressions like “you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar” came from?

What should I stop doing altogether?

Saving the hardest for last, this would be the category for all of your bad habits. Anything that wastes time, money, energy, or all of the above needs to be eliminated. These could include meetings that accomplish nothing, complaining about things without working to change them, idle gossip, finger pointing, negative thinking, etc. These are all a tremendous waste of time that uses up way too much energy that only end up costing you money in the long run.

Some Year End Thoughts

2009-12-02T11:51:00.000-08:00

As we rapidly approach the end of another year it is important to not only begin to plan for the upcoming year, but to also take some time to reflect back on the last 12 months. They often say that in order to know where you are going you need to take a look at where you have been.

The following are a few thoughts to keep in mind as you take a look back and begin to take a glimpse ahead.

- No matter what you do in life you need to have a plan. The other day I heard former NFL player and head coach Herm Edwards say that "a goal without a plan is just a wish." We all want to do better in our business and our personal lives but without a clear cut strategy to actually achieve this, it really is nothing more than a wish.

- Create accountability for not just those around you, but yourself as well. To me one of the greatest motivators in life is a mirror. If you cannot look yourself in the eye, then who else in this world can you? While nobody is perfect, we can still strive for perfection. In order to do this you have to be willing to make an honest assessment of yourself and also be willing to change the things about yourself that are getting in the way of your goals.

- One of the biggest lessons I learned this year is that you are far more effective in your life when you enjoy what you are doing. To be able to get up everyday with a true sense of enthusiasm for what needs to get done makes doing it a pleasure, not a chore. There will always be unpleasant tasks that you have to do, but never stop striving to gear your energy towards the things in life you enjoy the most.

- While reflecting on the past can be a positive experience, dwelling upon it is a waste of time. Getting caught up in things that cannot be changed will only sap the energy that can be applied toward things that you are able to change. We need to use the past as a tool for understanding what has worked and what has failed. Resist the temptation to use it as a crutch or an excuse.

- The most important thing I rely upon on a daily basis is my faith. Primarily, faith in God and faith in myself to try and listen to what he is telling me. Your life is very simply a series of roads. Each crossroad in your life is a decision. Each decision you make is another road you go down. Your goals are your destination and your faith is your GPS.

Key Elements of the Sales Process- Define Your Target

2009-11-01T11:39:00.000-08:00

There are several steps involved in creating an effective sales process. They are separate pieces that build upon one another. One of these steps is finding who you want to sell to. As a sales person you have to fully understand your product or service’s features and benefits. This will allow you to match them with a current need in the marketplace. Anyone who can benefit by having this need fulfilled becomes a potential customer. If you are selling to a specific industry, your prospect list may be small and highly defined. If your product has wider appeal, your prospect list can be extremely large and thus harder to manage. This is why taking the time initially to identify the best prospects for what you have to sell will pay dividends in the long run.

Your “time to sell”, the actual time in front of a potential customer is the most important part of your job. Developing a properly targeted call list will provide the best use of this time. Before you ever step foot into the door, you will have the confidence that you truly are able to fulfill a need. Once you are in front of a properly targeted prospect, you greatly increase your probability of closing the sale.

Having a targeted call list will also increase your ability to gain quality referrals. If you can relay to other business associates exactly who you are looking to meet, right down to the company name and key contact person, you are much more likely to get a positive response. This is especially important when your other efforts to engage this prospect have not been successful.

Knowing who you want to call on and why will keep you organized as you schedule your time. This allows you to properly plan your selling strategy so your energy is spent on being productive rather than being busy. You can make all the sales calls in the world, but at the end of the day you will still be measured on actual sales.

There are many tools available when trying to define your target accounts. Proper research can identify prospects by such variables as specific industry, number of employees, annual revenue, locations ect… You need to determine what variables define your ideal customer. Sorting your prospects accordingly enables you to create your target list.

Properly developing a target call list can be somewhat time consuming at first. However, once it is in place it will keep you on track in your selling efforts. It can continually evolve as you add new prospects and remove ones that no longer fit. It provides you the best chance to stay focused and remain one step ahead of your competition.

Key Elements of the Sales Process: Establishing the Objectives

2009-10-02T07:31:00.000-07:00

If you are in the sales profession or are about to enter one you already know the whole premise of your job; get someone to buy what you are selling. That is obviously the main objective. On the surface it seems simple enough, but in order to be successful at this task there a number of variables which must be planned out in advance. First there must be defined parameters which will guide the entire sales process. These will establish company expectations, customer expectations, and most importantly what is expected from the individuals who will be executing the sales call. Clearly defining these objectives is the first step towards building an effective sales process.

When looking at company expectations in light of sales, they must first determine their overall objectives. Do they want to grow sales volume in terms of total units sold, increased sales revenue, improved margin on what is sold or widen the distribution of where their products are sold? In most cases they will want all of the above. The company needs to set the big picture objectives first. Once the overall goals are determined, they can then break them down across territories, divisions, or individual sales personnel. By making each objective as clear and concise as possible they will ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to what is expected.

Another aspect that is equally, if not more important is making every objective reasonable. Unreasonable goals either too high or too low are the main cause for disconnect between those setting the goals and those who carry them out. Realistic
objectives that take into account past performance, market conditions, and the competitive environment are vital to managing and motivating the sales effort.

The next area that needs to be considered is the time frame to achieve the objective. The shorter the time frame the more relevant the objective becomes. The most effective increment, daily, weekly, or monthly will depend on the type of business. All sales objectives should be reviewed at the very least on a monthly basis. Anything longer than this will reduce focus on the selling effort.

The final step is to break down each objective to correlate with individual expectations. This should then be communicated to each and every person involved in the sales process. If everyone knows what is expected of them, they can devote all their effort on achieving their goals. If each individual achieves their assigned objectives, the overall company will surely achieve theirs.

The Fourth Quarter

2009-09-25T12:08:00.001-07:00

Next week brings the month of October and for most companies the final quarter of their business year. 2009 has undoubtedly been a challenge for most of us. The recession has taken its toll on business as most companies have had to trim their work force, cut back on spending, and put any plans of expansion on hold. These tough times have put the business world on the defensive trying fend off any further deterioration of their core business.

To liken the situation to a football game, many of us enter the 4th quarter down big on the scoreboard with no real offense to try and close the gap. At this point you have two choices; pull the starters and write this year off as a total loss, or put a few different plays in the game plan to try and shake things up. If what you have been doing all year hasn't worked maybe it is time to survey the team for some new ideas and give them a shot. The worse that can happen is you stay on the same downward spiral, but chances are some new initiatives will yield some different results.

Do not fall into the trap of telling yourself that things will be better next year and you will start anew in January. All that does is put you three months further in the hole.

Now is the time for action to try and put some points on the board. You may very well still lose the game, but you can take satisfaction in the fact you that went down fighting, not sitting it out on the bench.

My Three Keys to Success

2009-09-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

When I think about what it takes to be truly successful at something there are many factors that come into play. Obviously, hard work and a certain degree of talent are very important, but they do not offer any guarantee of success. A bit of luck and a break here and there certainly can be helpful but obviously cannot be counted on.

After giving this thought, I have determined my own personal keys to success-perseverance, persistence, and faith.

Perseverance:

The Free Dictionary defines perseverance as "Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness".

My definition is a bit simpler, "Never Say Die."

I have always strived to persevere through all the many obstacles and challenges I faced in both my professional and personal life. I wish I could say I have been incredibly successful in this ambitious endeavor, but that would just be a plain lie. What I have done is continue to keep the whole concept of perseverance "top of mind" as I plow forward. When you take phrases such as "this is hopeless", "I have no chance",or "I should give up" out of your vocabulary you have taken the first step to making perseverance a valuable part of your approach toward life.

Persistence:

The Free Dictionary defines persistence as " To be obstinately repetitious, insistent, or tenacious. To hold firmly and steadfastly to a purpose, state, or undertaking despite obstacles, warnings, or setbacks."

My personal definition is once again is rather simple "Never Ever Quit"

I look at persistence as a family trait that was passed down through the generations. Growing up in a competitive atmosphere, I was given few chances to quit in my life no matter how bad I was getting beat. This has stuck with me over the years as I do not look at failure as an option. While I will be the first to admit there were many times in my life when I wanted to quit and I still fight the urge on a regular basis, I found a way to dig down deep and keep moving forward.

Faith:

The Free Dictionary defines faith as "Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing."

My personal definition is taken from an old Phillies slogan "You Gotta Believe"

For the purpose of this discussion faith is not my belief in God as that is a whole other subject, rather it is the belief in myself and my ability. You have to be able to take past success and translate it into future success. It is my firm belief that everyone who walks this earth has a talent or ability they can rely on to generate some form of success. You need to have faith in that ability and do everything in your power to maximize its potential. When you study people that have been extremely successful in their lives, I would be willing to bet that you will find that faith in themselves was their driving force.

Short and Long Term Marketing Strategies

2009-08-13T19:13:00.000-07:00

Whether you have a formal written plan for your business or just a bunch of great ideas in your head, there are always going to be goals you set out to achieve. You will often think in terms of what do I want to accomplish in the next six months, as well as where do I want to be in five years. These short and long term goals are what drive your business. From a planning standpoint, you must also develop short and long term strategies to reach these goals.

Short term strategies revolve around cause and effect actions. You will institute an action and then measure the result. For example, if you run an ad in the paper, or send out a direct mail coupon, you can easily track your response rate. Depending on the amount of new business you generate, you can measure the effectiveness of the campaign. Most of the times these strategies involve costly advertising, so you must be sure you are reaching your target market, as well as creating a “call to action” for your potential customers.
Other examples of short term strategies are Internet websites, informational brochures, press releases, trade shows, and samplings. All these can be used to create a cause and effect reaction from potential customers. These are crucial in launching a new business as well as growing an existing one. As long as you’re reaching your target market, these activities will provide an immediate return on investment. If they don’t, then your overall advertising message needs to be reevaluated.

Long term strategies are much more subliminal in nature. They encompass all the activities that reach people in a subtle way. Networking is probably the best long term strategy you can engage in. Many people have misconceptions about networking. It is not about going to events to drum up customers. Rather it is all about developing relationships. People tend to buy from people they like or feel they have something in common with. Much like planted seeds, if properly nurtured, these relationships will grow over time and yield incremental business. Other examples of long term strategies are participating in trade and civic organizations, giving presentations, and donating time to charitable events. All these activities will generate positive goodwill for you and your company. Word of mouth is your best form of advertising. While this is an overused cliché, it will generate more business than many other tactics.

By incorporating both short and long term strategies into your marketing plan, you will lay the proper groundwork for short and long term success. While very different in nature, they are both effective in building a solid approach to accomplishing your goals. The key is to make sure you properly balance your efforts in order to maximize all the benefits these strategies can provide.

Creating Brand Ambassadors

2009-07-31T04:23:00.000-07:00

Everyone in business understands the power of "word of mouth" advertising. There is nothing more powerful than having someone provide unsolicited approval of your products or services to a potential customer. Just think about how you purchase products and services in your own life. I guarantee there is something you bought based upon the recommendation of a friend, family member, or business associate. As a business owner or manager the trick is to harness the power of suggestion by creating your own team of Brand Ambassadors.

A Brand Ambassador can very simply be someone or a group of people that you enlist to spread the word about your products or services to their particular circle of influence. A good starting point to find such a group is always with your current customers. As long as they are happy and completely satisfied with you, they would make an excellent spokesperson to spread the good word to others. To compensate their efforts, you could offer a discount off their next purchase, a referral fee based upon new business, or something as simple as a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant. You are not out to buy their opinion as this may lead to unwanted tactics on their part, rather you want to reward them for spreading the word about your company.

Another approach to developing a Brand Ambassador program is to hire and train individuals to professionally promote your product or service. What makes this tactic even more impactful is to find people whom already have positive influence among their peers. Why do you think someone like Tiger Woods makes more money from endorsements than he does from playing golf. You do not have to go out and hire a celebrity, but rather seek out the people in your local community that are well respected as well as well connected.

The most important aspect of a successful Brand Ambassador's program is to fully leverage the power of influence. Traditional advertising is no longer breaking through to the listening or viewing audience. The old ways of reaching potential customers are rapidly becoming obsolete. Social interaction and an open exchange of information have a far greater impact on buying decisions then a radio or billboard ad. Given the way information is exchanged today, it presents a perfect opportunity to utilize Brand Ambassadors as an integral part of your overall marketing plan.

A Novel by Jeff Onorato-The SIN of Addison Hall

2009-07-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

An old college buddy of mine from Lehigh University, Jeff Onorato has just published his first novel, The SIN of Addison Hall. Let me be one of the first to congratulate Jeff on a job well done. Below is a brief description as provided by the author.

Review

Shari Goldhagen, Author of Family and Other Accidents, says, “With echoes of Vonnegut, Jeffrey Onorato creates a vivid, chilling dystopia where beauty rules. What's even scarier is how close to home his world hits”. --Direct from ARC review

Description

Breaking the Mold of a Traditional Hero Results in a Gripping Tale of Fiction... First-time author soars with his spellbinding story of a man fighting with human nature... Residing in a country where beautiful people are considered superior, Addison Hall is an anomaly. A mildly repugnant man, he is forced by the twisted hierarchy of his dictator to live in less than adequate living situations. The days become increasingly arduous as he toils in an unpleasant job, stricken with the disappointment of his current situation. Besides the dark comedy of his disastrous attempts at romance and his friend’s antics, Addison s life is fairly dull. Then he meets Otka, a beautiful woman who owns the local coffee shop. After witnessing a chance encounter where Addison risks his life to save the life of a dog, Otka takes an obvious interest in him. Addison is perplexed by her reciprocated intrigue. Past experiences with such a valued creature of the opposite sex has left him tainted and doubting her motives. Jeffrey Onorato sensationally draws us into his world of relatable characters and witty dialect. He victoriously shatters the conventions of the true-blue hero to create a story that has both depth and originality. The SIN of Addison Hall entrances the reader with delicious conflicts of human wanting and wavering uncertainty with an ending that will leave you begging for more.

If you are interested in purchasing the book directly please go to Block Island Books or it can also be found on Amazon.

Making Customer Service your Top Priority

2009-07-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Most anyone will agree that customer service is one of the most important parts of your company’s overall strategy to conducting business. Without customers you really don’t have a business. If this is the case, why is it mostly everyone as consumers can easily cite examples of poor customer service in their daily lives? I believe every company either has or thinks it has good customer service. However, if certain steps are not taken to ensure this, the reality of their situation is often far worse than their perceptions.

The level of customer service begins at the top in any organization. The company’s leaders must buy into the fact that they not only need to meet their customer’s needs, but actually strive to exceed them. They must develop a company culture that understands this concept. In today’s world competition is tougher than ever. If you can’t provide goods or service when somebody wants them, there are often four or five other companies ready to fill this void. You rarely get a second chance once you drop the ball. If the company’s leaders do not accept this fact, or are not willing to provide the necessary resources to meet their customer’s needs, they will soon find themselves scrambling for business.

Proper training is one way to develop a company culture that embraces excellent customer service. Every employee must understand what is expected of them when interacting with customers. Is there a uniform way to answer the phone? Are there set procedures in place when a customer has a question or problem? Is there an established chain of command to make sure that issues are handled in a timely fashion? And most importantly is everyone trained to carry out these company procedures? How you handle the problem is far more important than the problem itself. A customer must always feel their best interests are being taken into consideration, even when you can’t give into their demands. It is far better to say no with a smile, than yes with an attitude.

Getting feedback from your customers is an excellent way to track and measure your level of service. You should not only benchmark your company against your competition, but also against the goals you set for yourself. Once again remember you are trying to not only meet, but exceed your customer’s expectations. Written surveys are one way to gage customer satisfaction. This can be useful to obtain feedback on a wide variety of company functions. Always allow for written comments, as these usually will help shed light on problem areas. Management’s interaction with customers is an excellent way to not only measure the overall efforts, but to also show the level of commitment the company has towards their needs. You always feel better if you have the chance to talk to someone who actually sets policy, not just someone who carries it out.

In today’s world of bigger, faster, better you need to be the company that gets it right the first time, and if you don’t, you quickly rectify your mistakes. If you consistently make this part of how you conduct business, your customer’s loyalty will continue to grow. Meeting and exceeding the customer’s expectations in the products and service you provide today is the best way to ensure future growth and success.

Turning a Dream into a Vision

2009-07-03T04:34:00.000-07:00

No matter if you own your own business or work for someone else, everyone has dreams of what they want their future to be. Maybe you want to expand your current business, start your own, get promoted, or sell your company and retire. What ever the case may be, these dreams are an important part of your current life as well as a guiding force for your future. What most people do not realize is that without a vision, these dreams will simply remain what they currently are; a dream.

If a dream is thought of as an idea, then a vision would be the plan. It is not enough to simply want to do something, you have to develop a road map that carefully plots how you will achieve it. You have to be able to visualize yourself in your new role as you work towards making that dream an actuality. You have to put aside all doubt that may be holding you back, and develop the confidence you will succeed. Fear of failure should not be seen as a deterrent to your dream, rather it should be incorporated into your vision as a motivational tool.

In life, too many dreams go unfulfilled. Time marches on and the window for making them come true tends to close. If you have a vision, and remain truly committed to the task at hand, you give yourself a good chance to make your dream a reality. You may not achieve everything you set out to accomplish, but I guarantee you will not let that dream die.

Take some time to review your current situation as well as your plans for the future. Write down where you want to be this time next year, in three years, five years and so on. Then write down how you think you are going to get there and be as specific as possible. Make sure you account for all the obstacles that stand in your way, as well as the benefits derived from getting there. By completing this fairly basic exercise, you will have taken the first important step in turning your dream into a vision.

Key Elements of the Marketing Plan: Setting and Allocating the Budget

2009-06-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

In order to create a comprehensive marketing plan, you need to incorporate certain key elements. Once you have determined your goals and objectives, you then develop strategies to achieve them. Having done this, you can assign responsibility and set time lines for tasks to be completed. The next step of the process is setting and allocating a budget.This allows you to align your financial resources with your overall plan.

There are several ways to determine an appropriate budget that provides a cost effective way to market your business. One way is to allocate a certain percent of your sales towards your media and promotional plan. This method allows for increased spending as your overall sales volume grows. As long as there is profitable sales growth, this approach makes sense. Another way is to institute a “cents per unit sold” budget. For example, if you sell 100,000 boxes of product, and you allocate .10 per box, you would have a $10,000 marketing budget. If you have a set margin per unit, this is a good approach to use. For smaller companies another way to determine a budget is to use a monthly figure based on available cash flow. This will give you better control of your spending, however you must still allocate enough money to support the marketing effort.
Whatever method you use to set the budget, it is important that you allocate a realistic amount that enables proper execution of the plan’s strategies.

Once you have a total budget, you need to determine how much is going to be spent on media (i.e. print, radio, direct mail) and how much on promotion (i.e. samplings, special events, customer entertainment). This will largely depend on the particular business you are in. The main idea is to develop a mix that allows you to allocate resources for the activities that will be most effective in growing your sales. Understanding your product and the marketplace you compete in will make this process easier to implement.

An important part of the budget process, is to build in ways to maximize the money spent. If you are buying radio, negotiate additional promotional value that ties your product or service into their on-air activities. Form “trade for mention” opportunities with all your media partners. Develop cross promotional programs with complimentary products and services. There are numerous ways to leverage the money you currently spend. By doing this on a consistent basis you will stretch your marketing dollars.

Setting and properly allocating a budget gives you the best chance to utilize the financial resources you have to grow your business. While this process will take some time and effort, it will provide a solid return on your investment.

Effectively Manage your Accounts Payable

2009-06-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

In today's economy it is vital that all your business processes are as efficient as possible. Many times there are hidden cost savings in analyzing how you are currently running your business and finding better ways to perform many of the basic functions that are involved on a day to day basis.

One area that is often over looked are your accounts payable. We are sometimes all to aware of our receivables and the problems they can cause, but have you ever stopped to think about over payments and erroneous billing? Chances are you are losing money through your current payment procedures and not even aware of it.

APEX Analytix is a company that specializes in developing audit software that can effectively manage your accounts payable process. It is designed to detect over payments, billing errors, and potential billing fraud. With APEX Analytix audit software you can have the piece of mind knowing that every payment you make is being closely monitored for accuracy. As one of the fastest growing companies providing accounts payable audit software, APEX Analytix is on the cutting edge of the latest technology designed for error prevention and fraud detection.

The best part of their audit software is that in a relatively short period of time it can actually pay for itself by detecting existing errors and through continuous monitoring, preventing future ones. For more information on this dynamic cost savings tool, please visit; APEX Analytix. They can provide everything you need to know on how to provide peace of mind that your accounts payable are accurate and safe.

Getting Your Message Across in a Big Way

2009-06-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

There are many facets to advertising your company and the products or services you provide. Traditional means often include a strategy that incorporates print, radio, or television. You can also use the Internet through your website or various forms of social media like Linked In or Facebook. One area that is often over looked is your actual place of business. Are you actively promoting yourself through the use of in-store signage? If you have customers that regularly visit your place of business, in house signage is a great way to communicate with them.

A great example of this type of advertising are wall calendars. They come in a number of sizes and can easily be installed just about anywhere. The are usually made out of a dry erase material so you can constantly change your message. One company who is leading the way is wallcalendar.us. They have developed a number of impact full applications designed to attract and educate customers on what you have to offer.

One particular application that has been extremely successful are
large restaurant calendars. They are an eye catching piece that can let customers know what is going on in your place. A large restaurant calendar is the perfect way to communicate nightly specials, new menu items, and special events. Placed in central location they are sure to catch the eye of anyone coming in and out of your place. It has been shown that people will remember what they see much better than what they hear. Your large restaurant calendar can become a primary source of keeping your customers informed and bringing them back time after time.

WallCalendars.us has developed portable signage products for a number of applications. The main focus is getting your message into the mind of everyone who sees it. This is a great way to remain "top of mind" with your employees, your guests and visitors, and most importantly your customers.

Targeted Information is Key to your Marketing Efforts

2009-06-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

A crucial part of any marketing plan and business development strategy is prospecting for new business. In order to effectively grow you need to always continue to build your customer base. While there are many ways to do this one of the most widely used strategies is the use of marketing lists. No matter what kind of business you are in there are companies that can generate a mailing lead list that will effectively target your designated audience. The most important thing to remember when utilizing this strategy, is your results completely depend on the quality of the information you receive.

One company that has a long history of providing quality lists is
America Heritage Data Corporation. Their databases are among the best in the industry and consistently produce results that move the dial. American Heritage Data has built their reputation on some basic core values such as quality, integrity, reliability, and customer service. The most important aspect of this company is that they stand behind their product, which is something hard to find in the
marketing list industry.

America Heritage Data can provide consumer, general and specialty business, and mortgage mailing lists. They constantly update their database to ensure you are receiving the most current information that is possible.

Before you embark on your next direct mail campaign, take a hard look at your current information provider as your primary goal should be to maximize your investment by gaining the highest return rate possible. If they cannot guarantee the results you are looking for, chances are American Heritage Data can.

Searching for Your Next Car?

2009-06-05T04:34:00.000-07:00

I think that most everyone would agree that the Internet has become the best tool for conducting searches. Anything and everything can be found on the net just by entering in some key words and clicking your mouse. The problem is finding websites that can provide all the information you are looking for in a clear and concise manner. When it comes to researching cars I have found that perfect site.

Car Connection provides every bit of information you could possibly need when researching your next automobile. The information is laid out in a very organized fashion and the site is very easy to navigate.

Perhaps you are interested in GMC models, there is a whole section on anything you would want to know. Everything about the latest and greatest models is included, as Car Connection leaves no stone unturned.

The other day I saw a commercial for the new Honda Fit and it peaked my curiosity. I found that Car Connection had the most thorough Honda Fit review as well as provided pricing and links to other sites' reviews as well.

Car Connection is also able to provide the most up to date information for new models. Take for instance the Audi S5, they compiled information from a number of sources and put into one comprehensive review. You end up having everything you need to know right at your finger tips.

I decided to give this site a test drive and research my dream car the BMW M5. At a list price of $85,000 you can understand why it is a dream, but the Car Connection did not disappoint. One of their best features is the "bottom line" where they pull no punches and provide both the plus and minus of every car. Believe or not, even an $85,000 car as a minus or two.

So they next time you are in the market for a new car or just feel like going to a virtual car show, check out Car Connection and I'll think you'll agree it raises the bar for Internet research.

Tips and Techniques for your Trade Show Display

2009-06-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

If you have the type of business that is involved in setting up displays at trade shows, expos, or any other type of special event you want to make sure you have the proper display equipment. Not only do you need display equipment that will present your company in a professional manner, you need it to be practical as well. I have found a company Camelback Displays that can provide everything you need to stand out from the crowd and attract more visitors to your trade show booth.

Since 1999, Camelback Displays, Inc. has been the leader in providing real options for companies needing trade show booths. They have one of the widest array of products in the industry. Here are few of their most popular products.

Banner Stands:

The company offers all types of banner stands that are used for a variety of uses at trade fairs, retail outlets, entry ways, informational areas. They come complete with full printing and graphic design. Banner stand styles include indoor, outdoor, retractable (works like a projector screen), rod-tension style, adjustable, flying banners, and more.

Pipe and Drape:

Is used at trade shows or trade fairs to make trade show booths. They are made of aluminum pipes and fire retardant fabrics that can make 10x10, 10x20 or 20x20 booths. Schools, universities, churches, hotels, and the hospitality industry uses pipe and drape to make rooms or partition off areas.

Table Skirts:

There is a supply of full assortment of different types of blank or printed table skirts which can be used for tables, back drops, stage skirting and more. Full color printing or silk screening can be used to apply logos, artwork, marketing messages or anything else that needs be displayed. Fabric is also fire retardant and comes with a certificate from a testing organization.

Other applications include everything from hanging signs to unique exhibits, flooring and furniture. So the next time your are planning an exhibit and are looking for some innovative ideas think of Camelback Displays as you one stop source for all your display needs.

Technology Never Ceases to Amaze Me.

2009-06-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

I am constantly amazed at even the simplest advances in technology. Having recently upgraded my laptop and cell phone, I feel like I'm now on the cutting edge, but unable to take advantage because I'm not sure how all these new features work.

One of the best advances and simplest to use is with my Direct TV remote control. My Direct TV System now allows me to get up to the minute sports scores with a push of a button. No more trying to squint my eyes to try and read the bottom scrollings on ESPN. All I have to do is tune into any sports channel, push a tiny red button, and all the scores of various sporting events of the day magically appear on the left hand side of the screen; how great is that? If I want up to minute local weather, I simply tune to the Weather Channel and push the same red button, and my town's forecast is displayed.

Direct TV has put themselves on the true cutting edge of technology in my book. They have a keen understanding of what the consumer wants and are leading the way to provide it. For certain sporting events such as The U.S. Open of golf and tennis, they add extra channels to give you expanded coverage of the event so you do not miss one minute of all the action.

The best part of this is that it is all included in your current Direct TV Service at no extra charge. With competition from the cable companies heating up Direct TV continues to find ways to keep them in the forefront of innovation.

The next time you marvel at all the features your new cell phone has, but still do not know how to use them, think of that little red button of the Direct TV remote that does all the work for you.

The Mind's Perception of Reality

2009-05-29T05:17:00.000-07:00

There are basically two realities in life. The first is your everyday life and all the events that affect it. The second would be your personal vision for what you really want your life to be. If both of these realities are the same, you can stop reading and go on with your life. Unfortunately, if you are like most people, there is a gap between these two concepts and you are caught somewhere in the middle.

I was taught that the human mind can only accept one perception of reality. You can not live in both realities, so your mind has to choose one. Most people choose to focus all their attention on their current situation as this makes the most sense, or does it? The day to day reality of your life is a hard place to live. There are constant problems and numerous setbacks. Things rarely go according to plan and time is a commodity in high demand. If this is the case, why choose to live in this reality? Because that is the only one you are allowing your mind to accept.

What about the other reality, your vision for what you want your life to be. You probably think of this as a dream, a far off goal you hope to obtain someday. My question is why can't this be your reality? I'm not suggesting you live in a dream world that tries to escape reality, rather keep your vision top of mind every single day of your life. Focus on treating setbacks and disappointments as stepping stones to creating a better life. Take a positive approach to challenges and turn them into opportunities. Most importantly, do not waste your time on negative energy, as this just drains you to the point of exhaustion.

Frankly, it is very easy to live in your current reality and that is why your mind wants to choose this route. It takes hard work to train your mind to live in the reality of your vision, but work that will pay untold dividends toward the quality of your life. Remember, your mind can only accept one; it is up to you to decide which one.

A Mid Year Review

2009-05-17T07:16:00.000-07:00

As you approach the end of the first six months of the year, it is a good time to conduct a general review of your business. While actual numbers for sales, expenses, and profits for the first six months will not be available until July, now is a good time to access your results in terms of the critical issues you identified in your business plan. This analysis is vital to ensure you are on track with your goals and objectives

Some of the most important areas you should cover are customer relations, business development, internal and external processes, and employee performance. There may be other aspects of the business you may want to include, but these four areas will provide a good picture of how well you are doing.
Your business begins and ends with customers. If they are happy, you are happy. In a tough economy they will not think twice about going to your competition if they are not satisfied with your performance. Your review should consist of gathering some direct feedback from your customers to help ensure that you are indeed meeting, if not exceeding their expectations. It is far better to address any concerns now than wait and hope things get better.

When reviewing business development you can break this down into two simple areas; gaining business from new customers and gaining additional business from existing customers. You should strive for an equal balance between the two, as this will provide the steadiest and most solid growth over the long term.

Cost control is vital to protecting the expense side of your business. Reviewing all the processes that are involved in your day- to- day operations may uncover some wasteful practices or money saving ideas that can be applied to other aspects of your company. You must constantly work to eliminate bad practices and expand best practices to best utilize the limited resources that you have.

Finally, you need to review employee performance as this directly impacts all the areas mentioned above. You can have the greatest plan in the world, but if it is not being executed properly, all your effort will have been wasted.

You should think of this whole concept as a coach’s halftime speech to his team. Now is the time to praise and criticize, make adjustments and eliminate mistakes, capitalize on opportunities and form a better plan for the second half. If you are ahead in the game, this is not the time to ease up on your efforts and if you are behind you need to find a way to turn things around. A thorough review of the past will provide invaluable insight for the future.

Sales 101: Do you know your customer?

2009-05-11T06:03:00.000-07:00

There are several steps involved in creating an effective sales process. They are separate pieces that build upon one another. One of these steps is finding who you want to sell to. As a sales person you have to fully understand your product or service’s features and benefits. This will allow you to match them with a current need in the marketplace. Anyone who can benefit by having this need fulfilled becomes a potential customer. If you are selling to a specific industry, your prospect list may be small and highly defined. If your product has wider appeal, your prospect list can be extremely large and thus harder to manage. This is why taking the time initially to identify the best prospects for what you have to sell will pay dividends in the long run.

Your “time to sell”, the actual time in front of a potential customer is the most important part of your job. Developing a properly targeted call list will provide the best use of this time. Before you ever step foot into the door, you will have the confidence that you truly are able to fulfill a need. Once you are in front of a properly targeted prospect, you greatly increase your probability of closing the sale.

Having a targeted call list will also increase your ability to gain quality referrals. If you can relay to other business associates exactly who you are looking to meet, right down to the company name and key contact person, you are much more likely to get a positive response. This is especially important when your other efforts to engage this prospect have not been successful.

Knowing who you want to call on and why will keep you organized as you schedule your time. This allows you to properly plan your selling strategy so your energy is spent on being productive rather than being busy. You can make all the sales calls in the world, but at the end of the day you will still be measured on actual sales.

There are many tools available when trying to define your target accounts. Proper research can identify prospects by such variables as specific industry, number of employees, annual revenue, locations etc… You need to determine what variables define your ideal customer. Sorting your prospects accordingly enables you to create your target list.

Properly developing a target call list can be somewhat time consuming at first. However, once it is in place it will keep you on track in your selling efforts. It can continually evolve as you add new prospects and remove ones that no longer fit. It provides you the best chance to stay focused and remain one step ahead of your competition.

Making your Website an Effective Marketing Tool

2009-05-01T05:11:00.000-07:00

The Internet is rapidly becoming the primary source for the way most people obtain information. Studies have shown that the volume of content on the World Wide Web has tripled since 2003. Future generations will look back on newspapers, magazines, phone books and numerous other printed materials as the dinosaurs of the information industry. The central piece of any company's online presence is their website. This marketing tool has become one of the most effective ways for a company to promote their business. It allows them to reach out to new markets and attract new customers in ways traditional advertising can no longer supply. Like any tool, when used properly it will yield excellent results, but when used improperly it is likely to do more harm than good. The following are some basic concepts that must be taken into consideration in order to gain the maximum benefit from your website.

The first question you need to ask is, how do you envision using your site to grow your business? It needs to be more than just an online brochure that provides a pretty snapshot of your business. It not only has to be designed to attract visitors, it has to engage them as well. You need to give people a reason to stay on your site, as the average attention span is rather short. The longer someone stays on your site, the more information they will absorb. Your ultimate goal is to create a "call to action" that brings a visitor one step closer to becoming a customer. With today's technology, there is very little a website cannot do, so take the time to explore all the options that are available to accomplish this.

The next step is to find someone to build your website. Resist the temptation to be a "do it yourselfer" when it comes to website design as trust me, it as not as simple as it appears. Also avoid the urge to go cheap by using a novice designer. What you save upfront will end up costing you much more in the long run. You need to view your website as a major marketing investment in your company. Designate the proper resources to create a first class website that includes professional design and content. With so much information already on the Internet, your site needs to be able to cut through the clutter and grab someone's attention.

Finally you need to determine how you will maintain your website. Most companies fail to take this step and end up letting their site become stagnate. This is like investing in a brand new piece of equipment that you never plug in. Constantly adding, changing, and updating content keeps your website fresh and alive. When done properly, it will naturally keep you high in the search rankings attracting new visitors on a regular basis. This is another area where a trained professional can be extremely beneficial in making sure your website remains up to date and relevant to potential and existing customers. Even if you do decide to maintain the site yourself, make sure you do it on a consistent basis and never let it become dated.

For more information on the entire process please visit VBWebsites at VBWebsites.com This is a professional website design firm I have worked with in the past, that has numerous examples of first class websites that were designed specifically for one purpose, to be a growth engine for the company.

Capitalizing on "Word of Mouth Marketing"

2009-04-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

As a service provider you understand the value of “word of mouth” marketing, but are you taking full advantage of this powerful sales tool in your everyday business? Think about some of the best jobs you have received, I would bet they came through some kind of referral from a previous customer. In today’s economy people are certainly concerned about price, but the primary motivating factor in choosing a service contractor is getting the job done and done right.

If you are good at what you do, no matter whether it is plumbing, roofing, electrical work or any other trade your services are in high demand. There is always an abundant amount of work to be found as things are always breaking down, wearing out, or in need of an upgrade. You need to put yourself and your business in a position to take advantage of these opportunities by making the most of your current network of customers. If someone is satisfied with the work you provided, they are more likely to recommend you to their family, friends, and business associates. They can actually become a mini sales force; helping to open doors you never would have access to on your own. The following is a referral generating idea you can incorporate into your current marketing efforts to provide additional customers and revenue to your company.

The idea is to target specific areas where you have already completed some work or currently working. If they are residential projects, then start with the immediate neighborhood where the work was or is being done. If the work is commercial, then look at a ten mile radius from the job’s location as your target area. A fairly easy and very cost effective marketing technique is to create a printed flyer that can be easily distributed. This flyer should contain specific details of the services that you can provide as well as some details of the work you completed in the area. If you can, add a picture or two of the job as this adds tremendous credibility to your cause. Make sure you have your customer’s permission to include any details or pictures of the work before you create the piece. Finally, add as much contact information as possible including your full name, business address, cell phone number, and e-mail / website address if you have one. Do not rely on your business phone number as your only point of contact as this limits how people are able to reach you.

Once you have you created your marketing piece, spend the extra money and have it professionally printed. This will not be as expensive as you think and it will provide a first class presentation piece that sets you apart from your competition. The easiest and most effective way to distribute your flyer is the old fashioned door to door approach. This ensures it has been delivered to your target and has the best chance to get directly in their hands. One word of caution, do not put your information directly into someone’s mailbox as that is against the law. One of the best places to put it would be in the front door handle, rolled not folded. An equally effective but substantially more expensive method would be to contact a direct mail company who can work with you to reach specific neighborhoods by mailing the piece to every household or business in your target area.

No matter how you decide to distribute your marketing piece, the key takeaway is to utilize your past work to help you gain additional work. As I mentioned, if people are happy with the service you provided they will more than willing to help spread the word to those around them who may need your help as well.

Key Elements of an Effective Sales Incentive

2009-04-17T04:50:00.000-07:00

The purpose of any sales incentive, or what I like to call a "pay for performance" plan is to generate an increase in sales while also increasing profit and revenue for the company. There are many different ways you can try to motivate your sales staff to improve results, but there are a few key elements that should be a part of any incentive plan you put together.

One common mistake of sales incentive plans is making the goals too general. An example of a general goal would be, "if sales are up 5% this month you will earn $500." While this sounds simple and clear cut, in reality it is actually very vague, in that it does not set the parameters on how are we going to obtain this 5% increase. By creating specific goals, preferable on an individual basis, you then define what actions are needed to obtain your desired end result. An example of this may be, "you will receive $25 for every new account that buys product ABC this month." This is still simple and clear cut, but is also very specific and easy to track.

The second element of an effective incentive is setting a reasonable time frame. If you make it too short, there will not be enough time to achieve any substantial results. If it goes on to long, you run the risk of losing people's interest. From past experience, the shortest time frame should be a month, and the longest should be a quarter(three months). Every sales person is different and will tend to obtain results at their own pace. Citing the tortoise and the hair theory, your incentive has to be long enough to generate positive results from everyone on your team. My personal preference is a quarterly incentive that includes monthly rewards.

The third element is to make sure the reward equals the task. Too little an amount will fail to motivate your staff, while too much will end up costing you more than it is worth. Think of any incentive as a mini "profit sharing plan." Simply determine what amount of any increased profit you can afford to give back, and that becomes the budget for your incentive. This will provide a payout cap that ensures your employees receive a fair reward for their efforts, and the company still obtains additional revenue as a result.

There will always be a certain amount of trial and error in setting up an effective incentive, but by incorporating these elements you have a much better chance at creating a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Effective Time Management: Myth or Reality

2009-04-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

Several years ago I was on a trip with several co-workers to Toronto. Without a map or GPS we were having trouble finding our way around. After an hour of randomly making right and left turns, we finally declared we were lost. Just then one member of the group who had remained quiet throughout the whole ordeal proclaimed, “How can you be lost if you don’t know where your going.” This simple statement sums up the problem many people face as they try to accomplish all the tasks at hand. On any given day we will tend to work on a number of issues, but never fully complete any particular one. At the end of the day it is hard to see what progress you actually made.

Most everybody will create a to-do list to set their agenda. How we set this agenda is the first key to its success. First you need to set realistic goals. These goals should be based on what you want to accomplish that day. By limiting your time frame you won’t get overwhelmed with the magnitude of everything on your plate. In the beginning of the week the first thing you should do write down your top five priorities for that day. When writing them down, leave a space in between them so if you had to you could add additional tasks. By limiting yourself to five, once again you fight off the sense of being overwhelmed. Now in a perfect world you could go about completing your list and at the end of the day go home stress free with a true feeling of accomplishment. We all know the realities of business life will never allow this to happen. In fact most days will not let you even address any of the items on your list. While you have your agenda as your guide, how you handle all the other distractions around you is your key to success.

Everything in business life is not a crisis. This is why we set priorities. This is why we leave room on our to-do list. When a true issue arises that must be addressed, add it on to your list, but be sure to properly place it in light of your original five issues. You should always be working on the most important issue at hand. Your ultimate goal is to complete this task before moving onto the next. Everyone wants to be an expert at multitasking. In most cases you’re back to working on a multitude of tasks but never taking any one fully off your plate. It is extremely important that you are able to finish those original tasks you set. There is nothing more liberating than crossing off an item on a list. This will give both a sense of relief as well as a sense of accomplishment. There is nothing more demoralizing than working all day only to feel you haven’t made a dent in your workload.

There will always be more work than time. This is what keeps us employed. How effectively we use our time is still under our control. With proper planning and keeping our expectations within our grasp, we exert this control. Everyone and everything around you will try and derail your efforts. It is up to you to not let this happen. It is up to you to finish one task before your knee deep in another. Remember it is your sanity you are trying to protect, not everyone else’s.

Are You Linked In?

2009-04-03T05:48:00.000-07:00

What does it mean to Linked In? As described on their website: "LinkedIn is an interconnected network of experienced professionals from around the world, representing 170 industries and 200 countries. You can find, be introduced to, and collaborate with qualified professionals that you need to work with to accomplish your goals."

Just as Facebook and Twitter are popular online social networks, LinkedIn is designed to be the ultimate online business network. By adding your experience, skills, and the services/products that you or your company can offer to an online profile, you create the opportunity to network with other people in business through the powers of the Internet.

The big question is how can I make this work for me? I myself joined LinkedIn about six months ago after dragging my feet on exploring the whole concept of online networking. My experience with LinkedIn since then has taught me only one thing; I should have joined the day I started my company.

Like anything else in the world, the more you put into something, the more you will get out of it. Linked In is no different. In order for it to work for you, you have to take advantage of what it has to offer. By no means do I consider myself a Linked In expert, not even close. What I do know is that it can offer something for everyone, no matter what you do. If you need to develop connections across a wide array of industries, then LinkedIn can connect you with thousands of connections in over 170 industries. If you are looking for particular groups that share your common interests, you can find them here. If you do not find one, LinkedIn will help you start one. If you are just trying to get back in touch with past classmates or business associates, LinkedIn can help you reconnect. I'm probably missing some other key networking opportunities they can provide, but hopefully you get my point.

The best aspect of LinkedIn is that it is painfully easy to get started. Simply go to www.linkedin.com ,register for an account and start adding your information. You can build your profile over time and begin to add connections at your own pace. My advice would be to find someone who is already established on LinkedIn to help you with all the finer details. The main thing is to get started and go from there. There is no cost to join so your return on investment will be incredible.

The Online Information Explosion

2009-03-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

Have you ever sat back and thought about exactly how much information is now located on the Internet? I recently read that according to a study conducted by the University of California-Berkeley the volume of information online has tripled since 2003. While everything and anything is now located on the web, it is beginning to cause major headaches in terms of a company's ability to organize and effectively use this information on a day to day basis.

This issue has led to the start up a several companies whose main objective is designing tools that enable companies to harvest all the relevant information they require. One such company, www.mozenda.com located in Salt Lake City, Utah has developed Mozenda Web Agent Builder 3.0 software that makes this task extremely manageable. The software is designed to extract precise parts of a website's content and then sort and organize this information into useable formats.

According to information from www.mozenda.com , Web Builder 3.0 allows users to automatically schedule and run these harvesting tasks. It also provides notifications when the job is complete. Other features include the ability to organize and store large quantities of data directly through Mozenda's Web Management Console.

With the amount of online content that is constantly being generated, software such as Web Builder 3.0 will become a necessity for companies to keep pace with this information explosion. For more details on this and some of their other innovations please visit www.mozenda.com

You are always Networking(whether you know it or not)

2009-03-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

No matter what you or your company does, connecting with other people is a vital part of running and growing your business. Whether they are customers, potential customers, suppliers, business associates, or personal friends engaging them in any type of social interaction helps build relationships that is basis of your network.

In its most basic form, anytime you communicate with someone else you are in actuality networking with that individual. On the surface you may not see this as networking, but it is often these subtle interactions that can yield the most benefit. When most people hear the word "networking" they envision group meetings, organization functions, and planned social events. Simply meeting some associates for lunch to catch up with each other can be as powerful a networking tool as attending the local Chamber of Commerce mixer.

The key is to understand that anyone you interact with has the potential to help your business. You must also understand that this interaction is a two way street, as should be aware of how you may potentially be able to help theirs as well.This "mutually beneficial" exchange is the true essence of networking.

Networking is really about creating a working relationship with someone, as opposed to trying to find out "what can this person do for me?" Another key aspect is keeping your ears and eyes open whenever you are talking and more importantly, listening to others. It is amazing the information you can obtain when you make an effort to "actively listen" to others.

Once you embrace the concept that all social interaction is a networking opportunity, the more you put yourself in the position to benefit from your activities. Remember, networking is more about listening, learning, and sharing than trying to sell yourself or your company.

How Fast can you Turn Your Boat?

2009-03-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, the company I worked for at the time went through a series of seminars designed to institute a system of continuous process improvement. Various areas that were covered included leadership, facilitation of teams, empowering employees, and impacting sales. This variation of TQM (Total Quality Management) was specifically designed for our industry, beverage wholesaling but could easily be applied to any type of business. One of the fundamental concepts was change. Old paradigms had to be eliminated and people needed to begin to think "outside the box" to keep up with the fast paced changes in the market that every industry was facing.

One of the first analogies the presenting consultant used to explain the way we would be able to change was to compare the size of the company to the size of a boat. He compared large corporations to the Queen Mary in that because of the ship's size, it takes a fair amount of time to actually turn around. Corporations can not change overnight as new concepts need time to work their way into their culture. Small business on the other hand (for the sake of discussion a small business was described as having 200 employees or less) was compared to a speed boat that should be able to make turns rather quickly.

The greatest influence on change comes from the top down. Just like the Captain decides which direction the boat should go, a company's Senior Management needs to be the driving force behind any meaningful attempt at improving their company's performance. If all they do is talk about the need for change, but do not completely buy into the concept that it is a vital part of growing a business, all they will be doing is paying lip service to the idea and nothing will improve.

As an owner you have the ability to commit yourself, and thus your company to continuous improvement. This involves being willing to change what is not working and explore better ways to try and achieve your objectives. Too many companies fail to recognize this need out of fear, complacency, and/or not having the proper tools.

Once you make this commitment, you need to get the rest of your employees involved. In order to quickly institute the necessary changes to take advantage of a changing market you need complete buy in from those whom can make it happen. Think of your company as a sail boat that has a number of deck hands, all working together to quickly turn the boat in the proper direction to take advantage of the changing wind. Remember, no matter what the size of the boat, it takes someones decision to turn it. The timing of these decisions often mean the difference between sailing into calm waters or stormy seas.

Effectively Tracking and Measuring Your Efforts

2009-03-06T10:11:00.000-08:00

Every business has goals and objectives they are trying to accomplish. The most important ones will be based on growing revenue and increasing profits, and other ones will be based on certain aspects of the business that contribute to these first two. When you put everything together, you will end up with a short list of issues that are critical to a company's future growth and success. The question you have to ask yourself as an owner or manager is, what systems do I have in place that can determine if we are on track to address these issues and achieve our goals. Sales and revenue can easily be measured, but you need to examine how are you measuring the actions that can positively, or negatively influence these two primary areas.

As a sales manager, one of my responsibilities was to access the performance of my team on a regular basis. Since sales numbers alone can be a complex issue with any number of factors contributing to gains and losses, there had to be a more complex system in place to properly track actions and measure results. We wanted to be able to measure effort, effectiveness,and consistency in each persons performance to develop a true picture of their work. Often times there would be someone who was doing everything right, yet their efforts did not result in increased sales. We also had people who, quite frankly got lucky and were in the right place at the right time and their sales gains were not reflective of their efforts. To address these issues, we developed a score card that tracked actions and measured results. These "point sheets", as we called them gave credit for positive actions and consistent effort. The theory is that if you keep doing the right things over and over again, you will eventually achieve positive results.

While every business is different, the general concept of a score card can be applied to every department in the company and every person no matter what their job. Everyone has work tasks assigned to them from the owner down to the person emptying the trash. In my personal opinion, every one's actions are equally important in relation to the role they play, therefore every one's actions should be tracked and measured. The only way you will instill accountability is to monitor performance. It is much harder for someone to make an excuse for poor results when there is an actual record of their efforts. By drilling this concept down to an individual basis, you will effectively guide performance of your company as a whole.

Creating an Action Plan

2009-02-27T09:42:00.000-08:00

Every owner of a company has certain objectives they set out to accomplish in order to run and grow their business. While increasing sales and making money would be a rather universal goal, there are a number of action items that need to be put in place to achieve this. Once you have taken the time to identify your goals and objectives, you need to create an action plan that clearly defines the proper strategies to achieve them. Unfortunately, many owners do not take the crucial step of writing an actual plan that creates an agenda for what must be done.

Not having a written action plan is like driving to a new location without any directions. You know where you want to go, but you have no idea the best way to get there. This doesn't have to be an elaborate process, rather all it takes is some time on your part to prioritize your objectives, delegate who in your organization will be the lead for each one, develop the strategies to achieve them, designate a time line, and create a system to measure your results. Completing this exercise creates your map to reach your destination.

An action plan ideally has only four to five initiatives. Any more than that will tend to bog you down. Once one is achieved to your satisfaction, a new one can be added. You must be very clear when assigning responsibility as that has a way of getting blurred if not properly put in place. Strategies must be practical and the necessary resources to achieve them must be available. Keep your time lines as short as possible in order maintain everyones focus on what must be done now, not six months from now. The most important piece is how will you track and measure results. Too many times action plans fail because no one is actively recording results. You want to make sure the actions are on target and actually moving the dial. This also helps to keep everyone focused on the tasks at hand.

While this may sound a bit silly but, once you have your action plan make sure you follow it. I have seen some of the best plans in the world go to waste because they were never executed or executed poorly. If these are items that are crucial to the success of your business, it is your job as the owner to make sure everyone involved has bought into the plan and thus has a vested interest in its success. Not adhering to this basic concept has derailed many companies over the years. Remember this plan is your map and your destination.

Prioritizing Your Critical Issues

2009-02-20T09:47:00.000-08:00

Every business is faced with issues that effect the level of success they will and can achieve. Some of these are positive and can drive the overall growth of the company, while others are negative and left unattended, will ultimately hinder this growth. As an owner, it is important you fully understand the forces that are guiding your business before you begin to try and address them.

The first thing you need to do is list everything you can think of that is having an effect on your business. The goal in this step is to identify what is working and what is not. Write down some opportunities that exist as well as the obstacles you need to overcome to take advantage of them. Determine which activities are productive and need to be increased and which ones are not, and need to be eliminated. Remember, there are many issues that influence your business, this exercise is designed to identify the ones you can control and change if needed. If you complete a thorough examination of your current state of affairs, you should end up with a fair amount of items on your list.

Next comes the hard part, prioritizing your list. The goal here is to identify the top four or five issues that are having the biggest impact on your business. These will then become your company's "critical issues". These are the ones that obviously need the most immediate attention in order to keep or get you back on track. The other items on the list cannot be ignored, but they will not demand the same amount of energy your critical ones will.

Both of these steps require the proper time and commitment on your part in order to derive the most benefit from this analysis. You need to be willing to make an in depth and honest evaluation of the issues you currently face. You are probably going to find things you didn't realize were so bad, as well as find some that are better than you thought. The whole goal is to identify what is making your company run and what needs to be done to make it run better.

Keeping a Sense of Humor in these Troubled Times

2009-02-13T10:29:00.000-08:00

It has gotten to the point where I avoid the daily news on TV, look away from the newspaper's headlines, and dread opening up my computer's home page each morning. Bad news keeps getting worse, doom and gloom are societies most popular couple, and there is no real incentive to even get out of bed each morning. To make the steepest economic downturn in seventy years even worse, most expects are predicting we haven't even come close to hitting the bottom and it may take three or more years to spiral out of this.

While I do admit things are bad, getting consumed in it is counter productive. Most everything that has gone wrong is completely out of your own control. Even if you did make some unwise financial decisions in the past, it is far to late to undo them now. One thing you can control is your attitude and your outlook. An extremely important aspect of this is keeping your sense of humor. While we are all facing some pretty serious stuff, fight the urge to take it too seriously. Take time out of each day to laugh. Go on the Internet and seek out things that are funny and when you do find something, send it to everyone you know. Make it a point to watch some comedy shows on TV. There is enough drama in the real world, why surround yourself with more when you are trying to relax. Buy a book of jokes and entertain your family and friends. Most importantly develop the ability to laugh at yourself.

It appears that we have a long dark road to go down until we get to the light of day. You can choose to walk it with your head down and a frown on your face, or with your head up high, smiling and laughing. We all have gone through hard times in the past. It simply comes down to how do you want to get through this current rough patch.

The Power of Peers

2009-02-06T10:19:00.000-08:00

As a business owner or sole proprietor I'm sure that you often feel as if you are stranded on an island with no one around to help. When the weight of the world around you falls squarely on your shoulders and you are solely responsible for the decisions you make, the stress can sometimes be too much to bear. Before these feelings overtake you, take a step back and remember you are not alone. In actuality there are thousands of other people in your shoes. While their problems and concerns may be different, these peers share the same burdens and blessings of responsibility as you.

There are numerous opportunities to share and learn from your peers. It could be an organized group that meets on a regular basis, or simply an Internet forum where opinions and information can be exchanged. The main thing you need to do is seek out a group or groups that best suit your needs. If you cannot find one, then start your own by gathering a few close colleagues who are willing to learn from each other. The main result you want to achieve is to shed the notion that as a leader you have to go it alone and tough things out. The weight of any decision will still be on your shoulders, but you will have a support group that can help you carry the load. As long as you are open to an honest exchange of information, you will learn new ideas you never thought of before and handle situations in ways you never did before.

Everyone in a position of responsibility has made mistakes and has had success. By sharing these with others, the entire group can benefit. I love the saying "hindsight is twenty/twenty" because it is so true. Mistakes are often made due to lack of experience or knowledge, so why not try to learn from one and other to help avoid them in the first place. Make the effort to learn from your peers as well as let them learn from you. When put into action this concept becomes a very powerful tool.

Evaluating Strengths and Weaknesses

2009-01-23T06:21:00.000-08:00

Have you ever met someone you thought was good at everything? Did you believe that anything they attempted to do never failed? I'm sure if we think back, we all know someone who falls into this category. In reality, that person does not exist. Every single person has certain strengths and certain weaknesses. Some rare people are extremely good at covering up their weaknesses, but believe me they are still there.

It is very important that you take the time to make a serious evaluation of your overall strengths and weaknesses. You need to evaluate all areas of your personality including mental, physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual attributes. To properly engage in this type of thinking you have to be okay with the fact that you have actual weaknesses, and that some of your perceived strengths may in actuality be weaknesses in disguise. You will derive absolutely no benefit from this exercise if you cannot or are not willing to take a true and honest picture of yourself. I myself am aware of my glaring weaknesses, but sometimes fail to recognize some that obviously exist. That is why a complete and thorough examination is needed to really understand your abilities.

The main benefit from this evaluation is creating opportunities to channel your energy toward your strengths and minimize your exposure to your weaknesses. In simple terms, do what you do best and let others help you with what you do not. Adopting this philosophy will help boost your confidence and reduce your frustrations in both your business and professional life.

Clearly Define Expectations

2009-01-16T11:37:00.000-08:00

As a business owner with employees, manager, or anyone else who supervises others I am sure that you have experienced the problem of someone not correctly doing their job. It could have been caused by carelessness, poor attitude, inexperience, or a number of other causes that effect someone's performance. One area we sometimes fail to consider are expectations. Did you properly explain what you expected from someone, or did you just take it for granted they knew what to do? Did you have a system in place that can measure actual results against predetermined objectives? Did you help them through proper training and support to be prepared to meet these expectations? These are questions you have to ask yourself when trying to examine someone's work.

I have managed enough people to know that with some, no matter how much time you spend working with them, they just aren't going to get it. You want to focus your attention on the people who can truly perform the job, but need some additional guidance to get it done right.

I spent most of my career in the wholesaling industry. One of our biggest tasks was to gain additional distribution for our products. We were having tremendous difficulty gaining distribution for a particular brand. Being extremely frustrated at our lack of progress, I immediately blamed our sales people for the problem. When I examined things a little closer, I realized they did not fully understand the company's expectations and there was no system in place to convey them. By developing a set goal, an action plan to achieve that goal, and a tracking system to measure results, each person knew exactly what was expected from them. This was also designed to hold them accountable for their results. The end result was a consistent gain in distribution, leading to a consistent gain in sales.

Take the time up front to make sure someone knows what their job is, how you want it performed, and what results you expect. Creating a system that communicates expectations will have a positive impact on performance. It will also help eliminate some common excuses such as "I did not know that was my job", or the more blatant one, "that's not my job." Once expectations are clearly communicated you pass the responsibility of properly executing work tasks onto their shoulders and off of yours.

Sampling: A Powerful Marketing Tool

2009-01-09T11:40:00.000-08:00

I did some work this week with an associate on a marketing plan for a company that is looking to launch a specialty food product. It is the classic story of someone cooking something up in their kitchen, serving it to their friends, and then deciding to try and sell it to the general public. There are thousands of successful products that got started this way. In fact there are quite a few very successful companies that got started this way. The one thing they all have in common, is that they created a product that people liked.

When putting together a plan to market this product, we went over the basic steps that need to be done to get this project off the ground. You have to formulate your pricing strategy, fine tune your packaging and presentation, define your target market, create a promotional plan to support your roll out just to name a few. A vital part of this plan has to be an aggressive sampling program. After all, why did you decide to try and sell this product in the first place; the people who tried it, really liked it.

Sampling is the most cost effective way to promote your product. Your plan should include as many sampling opportunities as possible. Getting your product into people's hands, or mouths is the fastest way to generate interest as well as sales. If people like something they will buy it. Not only will they buy it, they will recommend it to their friends and family. Word of mouth advertising is still the most effective form of advertising there is. Offering to sample your product is also an effective way to gain distribution in outlets where you hope to sell your product. Store owners will be much more willing to carry your product if you agree to conduct some samplings that will encourage sales. Even if you just supply product for the store owner to use as samples, it is a good use of your marketing dollars.

Remember this simple formula; distribution is vital for growing sales, sampling will create demand, and demand will increase distribution. As long as you keep producing a quality product that people enjoy, use sampling to continually fuel the fire of sales growth.

A New Year's Chance

2008-12-31T05:42:00.000-08:00

As we come to the end of another year it gives us a chance to reflect back on everything we have accomplished and everything that still remains to be done. This can be a bit overwhelming given today's tough environment. Accomplishments become harder to achieve and unattained goals seem even farther away.

I reviewed my marketing plan for the year and found that certain assumptions I made in the beginning of the year were overly optimistic as I fell way short of the planned goal. There were other areas of the plan where I exceeded my expectations and made some deep inroads that should pay dividends in the future. The main point I took away from these reflections was that growing your business as well as living your life is one big road trip. There are no right or wrong paths, just paths of opportunity. You can choose to play it safe and drive around in circles, or throw caution to the wind and drive around without a map. I personally would not recommend either of these choices, rather I would chart a course that is well planned and thought out, but will take you out of your comfort zone and force you to explore new and different paths of opportunity.

I came to the realization a few years back that you only get one chance to live your life, and there are no do overs. I decided I can live with the regret of failure, but not the regret of never trying. Given all the challenges we face on a daily basis, one of the few things we can control is attitude. Attitude is what causes people to quit or drives them to persevere.

The New Year Holiday has always been one of my favorites because it gives you a chance at renewal. While the majority of people's resolutions will quickly fall by the wayside, vow to not let this happen to you. Set some goals that will improve your quality of life in a mental, physical, and spiritual way. Forget the past as it can not be changed. The future will take care of itself. Live in the present and set these goals as high as you can. The trick is to not let the fire go out when you encounter the inevitable obstacles that will urge you to quit. You may not accomplish everything you set out to do, but you will end up far better not having the painful regret of giving up.

Decision Making- Black, White, and Grey

2008-12-19T12:34:00.000-08:00

Decision Making: Black, White, and Grey

There were many times I sat in a meeting when an important decision had to be made. Someone from accounting or operations would say “That is a black or white situation.”
With my background being in sales I was not always sure this was the case. There are many business decisions that are cut and dry, however too many times people look for a simple yes or no answer to solve a complex problem.

Company policy is a vital part of any organization. You have to have structured processes in running any business. These policies need to be set in the best interests of the company and then properly communicated to the employees responsible for following them. Too many times companies do not have set policies, so when situations do arise there is no consistency in their reactions. Internal policies are important so that everyone is treated fairly. Employees must know what is expected of them in the role they fill. They must also know what behaviors are acceptable and which ones are not. External policies are equally important so the company’s vision and mission can be achieved. Without these policies chaos will certainly ensue.

My problem with black and white decisions arises when the concept of flexibility is removed from rational thought. Too many times I found myself in situations where someone, citing company policy, made a wrong decision that drastically affected the company. If you have a policy that states that any order received after 9:00 A.M. will not be delivered until the next day, there probably is a good reason behind it. If you don’t set a cut-off time you will never be able to maintain a delivery schedule that accommodates all your customers. But what happens when one of your biggest customers is out of stock on your best selling item and forgot to call their order in on time? My answer always was that if we can physically make this delivery we would. These were the decisions that were not black or white; rather I liked to call them grey.

In the world of sales we constantly exist in gray. To ensure customer satisfaction you can’t throw the rule book out, but you better have the flexibility to bend it a little. I would always look at a problem as an opportunity. How can I handle a situation that goes from a loss for someone to a win-win for everyone? While that was always my goal, it certainly was not always achieved. You have to decide what you can live with and what you can’t. Once you do this you can render a decision that takes everyone’s best interest into consideration but still protects the company’s best interest. Anyone can make a black or white decision. The ability to make those “grey” decisions is what makes a person successful in the long run.

The Rule of Seven

2008-12-12T06:34:00.000-08:00

I recently attended a sales seminar and one of the topics discussed was the number of times you need to contact or touch someone before you can truly make a connection and open the door to a sale. The presenter referred to this concept as "The rule of seven." The theory is that it takes seven forms of communication in order to gain some trust and begin to build a relationship with a potential customer. Examples would be a phone call, an e-mail, a direct mail piece, a personal letter, a written article on your product or company, your website or a reference from another associate. All of these can be used to reach out to prospects in the hope of gaining them as customers.

I'm sure everyone knows of sales people that close most of their business on the first call. If you have a superior product and a flawless presentation, a one call close is very possible. The decision to buy is often an emotional one rather than a rational one. If you hit the right nerve with the buyer you can immediately close the deal. While there are the sales superstars who can achieve this result on a regular basis, for the majority of us it will take a number of efforts to close the sale.

The key to sales is to be consistent with your message and remain persistent, but not pushy. You need to present the benefits to the buyer in multiple ways in order to get your message across. Some people respond to visual stimuli (letters, e-mails, written articles, websites) while others respond to audio stimuli (phone calls, voice mails, a reference from an associate). That is why using a combination of both forms of communication helps insure your message gets through.

Most decision makers are bombarded with sales messages on a daily basis. They have built up a defense mechanism to deflect most of the information they receive. If you have something special or unique to offer, you may catch their eye, but chances are it will take several efforts to do so. Your role as a sales person is to use everything at your disposal to cut through the clutter, once again in a persistent, not pushy way.

It is easy to get discouraged when the only word you hear all day is no, but do not use this as an excuse to give up. Keep track of your efforts and make sure you remember "the rule of seven" as it pertains to them. Most sales people tend to quit asking for the order after the first no, when in reality you might need six more attempts to turn that no into a yes.

Staying Positive Amoungst So Much Negativity

2008-12-04T09:56:00.000-08:00

It is extremely easy to find constant sources of negativity in the world. One of the easiest ways is to simply turn on the local news as it is often filled with negative stories. Unfortunately, most of the stories revolve around bad things happening to good people. There is nothing that anyone in the world can do to change this, as it is part of everyday life. I would sum up this type of negativity as unavoidable. The negativity you want to avoid is usually brought on by the various people you interact with on a daily basis. The ones that want to bend your ear about everything that is wrong with their job, their boss, their life, ect.

I worked in an office setting having direct supervision over a staff of twenty people. In my eighteen years of management not one day went by without some kind of major problem arising. In fact most days there were multiple problems all worse than the one before. While I know it is a cliche, my first response to "we have a problem" was "there are no such things as problems, only opportunities". In all honesty I really believed that to be true. I found that in managing people, if you start to panic, all hell will break loose with the rest of the troops. Now that I work on my own I sometimes have to remind myself that problems really are opportunities in disguise.

While I think most people would like to think of themselves as optimists, in reality there are very few people in the world who truly are. I myself, a staunch optimist, will let negativity creep into my psyche. It is only the fact that I can not stand to be around negative people that snaps me back into a positive state of mind. It is hard for me to dwell on some minor issues in my life that given the right attention and some time, will correct themselves, when there are so many people in this world facing serious, often life threatening situations everyday of their lives. You need to put things into their proper perspective before you start complaining about the problems you may face.

Negativity will never go away, as it is woven into the fabric of society. How you choose to deal with it is entirely up to you. You can easily succumb to the masses and join in the rant, or rise above the complaints and find a better way, a positive response.

Managing your Customer Relations

2008-11-26T08:17:00.000-08:00

I think everyone would agree that customers are the life blood of a business. As I have said before, without customers you really do not have a business. Keeping your company and the products and/or services you provide in the forefront of their minds is more important than ever in our current business environment. Fortunately there are numerous CRM(Customer Relation Management)software systems on the market that are designed to help you organize and keep track of all forms of contact with customers, prospects, and other business associates.

A simple Google search for CRM will provide a good start to finding a software system that meets your particular needs. I personally use a management tool designed by an independent software developer, so I not recommending one system over another. What I am recommending is that anyone who has daily, weekly, or even monthly contact with people that are vital to their business have some kind of system in place to keep track of your communication efforts.

Time has a way of slipping by, and if you do not have an organized approach to maintaining consistent communication with all of your contacts, opportunities will surely fall through the cracks. One of the biggest benefits of a CRM system is the ability to track your efforts and record your results. This enables you to create consistency in your selling efforts by developing regular campaigns that can deliver your message to both existing customers as well as future prospects. A trackable system prevents you from bombarding your contacts with too much information or even worse, forgetting about them altogether.

As we close out another year, now is a good time to analyze your current CRM efforts. If there is no system in place, make plans to implement one. If you have a system in place, make sure that it meets the needs of your business and most importantly, it is being used to its full potential. In a tough market, nobody can afford to loose customers. An effective CRM system provides an important tool that works to help ensure your company remains relevant in your customer's mind.

Recapture Your Vision

2008-11-20T11:24:00.000-08:00

In business you often hear companies refer to their Vision and Mission statements. While a mission statement tends to define the actions needed to accomplish the company’s objectives, a vision statement should point the direction to achieving them. The vision gives the company something to strive for by creating an identity they wish to achieve for themselves. It should be able to define the expectations that have been set by the company’s leaders. The vision needs to be the driving force that provides a company its present and future motivation for being in business. While having a vision is important to starting a business, following and maintaining a vision is crucial to the success of that endeavor.

Many times the reality of business life will cause a company to loose sight of their original vision as they battle the day to day fires that constantly arise. As you get caught up in working in your business you will tend to forget to work on your business and its future path. Sometimes just getting through another day is the main focus. Unfortunately these days turn to weeks, then months, then finally years. While by many standards you may see yourself as successful, this is often based on the fact that you have survived long enough to still be around. The reality of your present situation is most likely radically different from your original concept of what your business would be like.

Another potential scenario is having an outdated vision. While you have been successful in achieving what you set out to accomplish, your original vision may no longer be relevant to your future goals and objectives. In a good way you have outgrown your expectations and now need to set new goals and objectives. In setting the bar higher you need to develop a whole new vision. To maintain success a company must always have something to aim and strive for. A company can never stand still, as it will actually begin to slip backwards. Truly successful businesses are never satisfied with the status quo. New visions provide new innovations that continually drive the company’s growth. If you sit back to admire all you have achieved, get ready to watch your competition go speeding by.

At any given point in time of the business life cycle you must be able to know and understand where you are and where are you going. In order to do this you must be able to maintain or update your company’s objectives. In other words you need to recapture your vision. If you take an honest approach to this task it will lay the groundwork to continued success.

Sourcing Information from Website Forums

2008-11-14T10:03:00.000-08:00

Up until a few months ago, I was not really familiar with the benefits of participating in forums that are starting to pop up on many company, community, and special interest websites. I belong to a few professional organizations that have an open forum for members on their website, but other than skimming over some eye catching topics, I never took the time to actually read and respond to other member's posts.

Recently I started to seek out websites that have forums relevant to my business or special interests. I began to read some threads, which are basically a topic starter, and the posts that follow, which are a response to that thread. Once you are registered in the forum, you can add your own threads and posts to any of the listed topics. While the majority of the information contained in a forum revolves around people's opinions, you can still learn quite a bit from actively participating in them. If you are looking for information on a particular topic, you can add your question as a thread and then see what kind of answers you receive back.

Some of the benefits I have personally derived from business oriented forums are links to websites and organizations that I never knew existed, advice on a particular issue, and feedback on my theories and opinions that I expressed in my own threads.

There are also many social forums out there on just about any subject imaginable. They provide a great place to exchange experiences with other people who share your same interests.

While every forum may be a little different in nature, they all work on the same basic premise, an exchange of information and ideas. As long as you remember that for the most part people are expressing opinions, not facts you should still be able to use them as a valid resource for obtaining information.

The Power of Self Assessment

2008-11-07T10:39:00.000-08:00

I spent close to twenty years as the sales manager for a wholesale distribution company and one of my main tasks was to constantly track and measure the sales team's performance. There would be weekly one on one reviews as well as monthly and quarterly performance evaluations all designed to align individual goals and objectives with those of the company. It was extremely time consuming, but beneficial in driving growth and improving the bottom line. It was this constant assessment that contributed to twenty years of profitable growth.

Now that I work for myself I have adopted this approach to evaluate my own performance. I have put processes in place that track my weekly results in four critical areas that are directly tied to the overall growth of my business. I conduct a monthly review of my efforts to ensure they are in line with my goals and objectives. On a quarterly basis I review my overall marketing plan to make sure it is still on track,and then make any necessary adjustments to my current strategies. This self assessment is designed to keep me moving forward, but more importantly to keep me committed to the vision and mission I established for my company.

I wish I could say that I have accomplished all the goals I set for myself, and everything is going according to schedule. The reality is that starting any business is hard work and extremely demanding. I have changed my business model numerous times and have made countless mistakes along the way. The one constant through the whole experience has been the process of self assessment. This is the single most important reason I even have a business. It has kept me focused and committed to the tasks at hand. It has allowed me to learn from my mistakes and make the necessary adjustments to get me back on track. It prevents me from making excuses and holds me directly accountable for my efforts. Most importantly, it gives me a reason to get up everyday and get back to work.

Assessing your performance is not the easiest thing in the world to do, however it probably the most important thing you can do for yourself. People close to you tend to tell you things they think you want to hear. You are the only person in the world who can honestly assess your efforts and performance. Utilizing this powerful tool and all the benefits it can provide will be directly tied to your eventual success or failure.

Creating a Blueprint for a Sales Call

2008-10-31T06:40:00.000-07:00

When a contractor wants to build something they start with a plan that usually involves creating a blueprint. I do not really know that much about construction, but I do know that builders constantly refer to the blueprint to make sure everything they are doing meets the specifications of the project.

Just as a contractor starts with a blueprint, a sales person's efforts need to start with one as well. Anyone involved with selling a product or service needs to develop a specific plan before their initial contact with a prospect. This plan will take you through the necessary steps to execute an effective sales call.

First, you need to thoroughly know the features and benefits of your product or service. This gives you the ability to match these benefits to a prospect's needs. This concept becomes the real nuts and bolts of any sales call and will ultimately determine the positive or negative outcome of that call.

Second, you need to know where you are going to sell your product or service. By developing a target list of prospects that are the best fit what you have, you will maximize your "time to sell". Qualifying prospects eliminates wasting your time calling on people that really don't have a need for your product or service.

Third, you need to know how you are going to sell your product, determining the techniques you will employ to effectively reach your prospect. While most times a face to face meeting is the best way to engage someone, this is not always possible. You need to determine the process you will follow and the means of communication you will use to get your message to the proper decision maker. This will often become a matter of trial and error, but having a set plan helps to eliminate wasted time and effort.

The most important thing a blueprint will provide is confidence. If you are properly prepared for a sales call, executing the call becomes that much easier. By taking the guess work out of your actions, you will come across as professional and an expert in your field. You may not always close the sale, but you will definitely give yourself the best chance to do so.

Potential verse Performance

2008-10-24T07:06:00.001-07:00

When I decided to start my own consulting company, I attended a training seminar designed to help get your business off the ground. One of the instructors talked about the concept of potential vs. performance in terms growing your business into a successful venture. As with any start up, I have encountered wall after wall of obstacles that try and derail your efforts. It is your actual performance , not your potential that determines whether you succeed or fail.

Everyone has the potential for greatness in some form or another. By taking a good, hard look at your strengths and weaknesses, you can determine what skills or attributes you possess. These skills, when properly applied, can lead you to success in both your personal and professional endeavors. So if this is truly the case, why do certain people succeed and others fail? Potential alone does not guarantee success, in fact in often gets in the way and leads you on the path to failure.

Performance, that fully utilizes your potential is what will create the proper environment for you to flourish. Remember the Nike ads..."Just do it". Too many times people want to blame everything around them for failure, except a lack of proper execution on their part. The truly successful people in life do not sit on the sidelines, rather they look for ways to constantly get in the game. Everything you do will not be an instant success, rather you learn from trial and error. The mere fact that you try will at the very least be a learning experience.

In the past two years since starting my business I have made numerous mistakes and squandered quite a few opportunities. Fortunately, this was not from inactivity, but from trying and failing. The beauty about this is, there is always another day, and always new opportunities to succeed. You learn from your mistakes and adjust your performance accordingly.

You need to make the commitment to yourself that you will succeed, and that you will do what ever it takes to achieve your vision. You already know you have the potential to reach your goals, however your performance is what will ultimately determine if you get there.

Control the Controllable

2008-10-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

As the economy begins to slump more and more each passing day it becomes harder and harder to remain optimistic about growing and expanding a business. With so much doom and gloom in the air many people will be tempted to throw in the towel. While I do understand that things are slow, they aren't stopped. It is the companies that change, adapt, and persevere during these tough times that will not only maintain their business, but grow their business.

One fundamental concept that must always be in the forefront of your mind is to "control the controllable". You can't fix the credit crisis, you can't lower the price of gas, and you can't print money(at least legally), so focus all your energy on what you can do. This is a great opportunity to examine your work processes to look for ways to eliminate waste and raise productivity. That doesn't mean everyone working harder and longer, rather it means worker smarter. This is a great time to get rid of all the bad habits that have accumulated over the years. I guarantee if you take an honest and hard look at how your business is being run, you will find areas that need improvement. Improvement leads to better productivity. Being more productive leads to a more profitable business, and a more profitable business means growth not declines in revenue.

This is also a great time to eliminate the word excuse from your vocabulary. Most likely your excuses for poor results are things you can't control, so why make them. Nobody uses poor performance as an excuse for poor results. It can't be me, it has to be all the negative things that surround me. If everyone takes accountability for their day to day actions and works toward improving their own results, the company will automatically improve their results as a whole.

There is no doubt that a good number companies will not make it through this current economic meltdown, some actually through no fault of their own. However, by not taking control of the controllable you give yourself even less of a chance to make it. Remember "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger".

Stretching Your Advertising Dollar

2008-10-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

As the economy heads into the tank everyone will be looking for ways to tighten the budgetary belt to cut costs. The first knee jerk reaction is to cut marketing and advertising dollars as a way to cut costs. This is not the best move but as cash flow gets tight there may be no other choice. So how can you keep promoting your product or service if you have to cut back on traditional ways to advertise?

One way to stretch your advertising dollars is to donate your product and/or time to local charities and other fund raising organizations. Donations to organizations are a great way to generate goodwill for your business. You will gain recognition from the community as well as endear yourself to the fund raising group. This is an excellent way to gain positive visability at a very low cost, not to mention the benefit of helping a worthy cause.

Another way to stretch your dollars is to seek out trade for mention opportunities with the companies you already advertise with. Radio stations are constantly giving things away on the air, why not give away your product. This is far less expensive than the cost of buying more ads. If you already spend money with them do not be afraid to ask how you can get involved with their promotions. Print and other forms of media can be a little more tricky, but opportunities still do exist. The bottom line is to go to your media suppliers to look for ways to leverage your current ad dollars to generate additional promotional value aand exposure for your business.

The amount of exposure you receive from these activities can be worth their weight in gold, as not only to you get your product in front of the public, you create trial and most likely future sales for them as well. The opportunities are out there, the main thing is to find the right ones and make them work for you.

Core Values

2008-10-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

Owners will often develop a Mission Statement and a Vision Statement to use as a blueprint to guide the direction of their company. You need to be able to visualize what your company currently is and what you want it to become. Giving careful thought to these statements is very important as they have the power to unite everyone involved into a common bond that will focus on achieving this mission under the guidelines of ownership's vision. One other thing that goes hand in hand with a mission and vision, are core values.

Core values establish the behavior and attitude that will guide the actions needed to carry out the mission, and stay true to the vision. If you strongly believe that honesty is the best policy, then make it a core value that will always be in the forefront of decisions and actions. If think tenacity and persistence are the way to grow your business, make them core values and hold everyone accountable to conduct business accordingly. What ever traits you want to see displayed in people's behavior in the course of the work they do should be communicated as a core value of the company.

Once you have your Mission, Vision, and Core Values make sure you post them for everyone to see. Make sure they are part of your company's culture. Most important of all make sure your actions and behavior as an owner stay true to what you have posted. Always remember you will be judged by your actions not your words.

The Power of Listening

2008-09-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Listening to someone else talk is probably the easiest thing in the world to do. You just have to sit back and focus on what they are saying. You don't have to respond other than a head nod or some other facial expression to let the person speaking know that you understand what they are saying. If listening is so easy to do, why is there often communication problems in almost every facet of everyday life?

My theory is that people generally do not know how to listen. I always thought I was a great listener, until it was pointed out to me by more than one person, that I really wasn't. The true art of listening is an acquired skill that like so many other skills has to be practiced to be effective.

Next time you are in a conversation with someone take the time to focus on what they are saying and the words that are coming out of their mouth. Put all other thoughts in your head aside and truly listen. I guarantee you will come away with a clear understanding of what they said and you will be much better prepared to respond.

This concept can be really powerful in business and in life. If you listen carefully, people will usually give you all the information you need. You can then process that information to craft a response that is based on their actual needs, not your preconceived notions. Everyone has the ability to effectively listen, then properly process that information, most just choose not to do it. Developing this trait can become a key component to success in all areas of your life, helping to eliminate communication problems that cause so many problems in relationships today.

Oganization is the Key to Success

2008-09-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

I remember working with a guy who always said, "How can you be lost if you don't know where you are going". I think this rings true for many people in today's world. They are always busy, yet don't seem to accomplish much. With some people that is by design. They are paid by the hour so appearing to be busy is much more important than actually completing a task. However for the majority of people wasting time is not a luxury. They are constantly under the gun to get things done with a never ending list of tasks. Their boss has no concept of time and is only looking to have answers and results for their boss. This trail leads all the way to the top. Often the president or owner of the company works just as hard if not harder trying to keep up with the demands of the whole company.

What can be done to stop this vicious cycle? One of the best ways to maximize productivity is good organization. You need to have a plan of attack, so to speak, that prioritizes tasks and clearly spells out what is necessary to complete the task. How much time is wasted trying to figure out how to do something before you actually do it? How much time is wasted having meetings to talk about doing something? If an agenda is developed and adhered to, much of your wasted time can be eliminated.

Roles and responsibilities need to be defined, so everyone knows exactly what is expected of them. This eliminates someone worrying about what someone else should or should not be doing. Reasonable time lines must be put in place. If a project starts to fall behind, you need to find out why and adjust accordingly. Sometimes it could be human error, or simply conditions that are out of your control. Complete one task before moving onto the next. While multitasking sounds impressive, trying to juggle too many balls simply causes you to drop a few.

If you develop a daily plan, prioritize the tasks, and stick to it, you will end the day with a sense of accomplishment. Remember you will never be done, just try and be done for the day as tomorrow always allows you to take another crack at it.

Networking 101- Understanding the Concept

2008-09-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

Most people understand the benefits of networking as a way to expand and grow your circle of influence, especially those of us who own and run our own business. Meeting and interacting with other people is probably least expensive way to promote yourself as well as develop key contacts that can become valuable assets down the road.

Productive networking has to be about giving and receiving. If your sole purpose in networking is to "get what you can get" from everyone else, you will soon find people going out of their way to avoid you. You need to bring something to the table before you sit down to eat.

I have been at events where people have come right up to me, tell me what they do, and shove a card in my face. While that type of approach is an extreme, it does speak to a certain mindset, it's all about me. I have also gone to events and had great conversations with people and never even found out what they do. To network successfully you need to strike a balance somewhere in between these two examples.

First and foremost, you need to be able to listen. By showing you are genuinely interested in what someone else has to say, you engage them in the conversation. This also allows you to determine if this is someone you want to get to know better. Second, do not try to meet everyone in the room, rather focus on trying to meet two or three new people you never met before. A few solid contacts that you can follow up with is much better than a stack of cards of people you won't remember the next day. Finally, be yourself. Don't exaggerate or undersell any aspect of who you are and what you do. Let your true character make an impression on everyone you meet.

By following some basic rules, you can make networking one of the most productive activities for you and your business.

Word of Mouth Marketing

2008-09-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

I think everyone realizes that "word of mouth" advertising is the cheapest and probably most effective way to market a business or product. There are countless examples of products that took off primarily through people simply talking about it, creating "buzz" so to speak.

Until recently,how many Red Bull commercials did you see on T.V.? This product is a perfect example of how people, not electronic or printed media can take a little known product and make it a huge success. It took awhile as Red Bull has actually been available for years, but slow steady growth is the best formula for long term viability.

If you own your own business a vital part of your marketing strategy should be creating "buzz" for your product or service. The first step is to be good at what you do and the second is to have your satisfied customers spread the word. One mistake business owners make is to assume this will automatically take place.

You have to create an environment that encourages people to talk you up. One way is to come out and ask them to. There is nothing wrong with asking somebody to recommend you to their friends and family. Most times if a customer had a good experience they are more than happy to help. Another way is a good old bribe. Offer them a discount on their next purchase if they give you a business generating referral. A more subtle way is to create some form of communication with your customer base. Sending out a flyer or newsletter is a good way to keep your name fresh in their minds as well as encouraging them to refer you to a friend or two.

You have to remember, there are only two ways to build your business, add new customers and generate more business from your existing customers. Word of mouth is one of the best and actually easiest ways to accomplish this.

Communicating with Your Customers

2008-08-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows that customers are the life blood of your business. Without customers you really don't have a business, just a great product or service that nobody buys. Keeping in touch with your customers on a consistent basis is one way to better understand their needs and create a relationship that will build loyalty and trust.

You need to know what is going on in the market, and your customers remain the best source of information.Is your product or service meeting their needs? Does your delivery meet their expectations? Is there a competitor that is poised to steal them away? All these questions need to be answered on a regular basis. You need to know what they are thinking and how they view you as a supplier. If there is a problem you need to know about it. The only thing worse than a customer that complains all the time, is the customer that you never hear from. They are the ones that will take their business somewhere else once a problem occurs.

Another main reason you need constant communication is to build a relationship. Don't just call on your customers when you need an order or it is time to renew a contract. Reach out to them on an ongoing basis to let them know you value their business and you want to understand how to better serve their needs. Be genuine in your approach and be consistent in you actions. They will come to value you more than just for what you provide. They will reward you with their loyalty and trust.

Customers voice their dissatisfaction by taking their business elsewhere. Use all forms of communication available to ensure they remain satisfied with you and your company. By all means, don't be a pest, but do be vigilante in your efforts.

Where did the Time Go?

2008-08-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

You often hear people complain that there are not enough hours in the day to get things done. As you struggle to finish everything you set out to accomplish in any given day, you find yourself succumbing to the pressures and stress this mindset will bring.

You have to realize that you will never be caught up no matter how long and hard you work. Even when you retire there will always be something on your plate that you feel has to get done. This has been ingrained in our psyche from day one. It all started when you were a kid in school. It wasn’t enough to go to class all day, the teachers felt compelled to give you homework.

I realized this awhile back and decided that I was not going let the burden of unfinished work drag me down. I would create a list, prioritize it, and work to complete my tasks following the order of importance. If something came up that had to be immediately addressed, I just put it at the top of the list and continued on my way. While this didn’t always work to perfection, it did create a mindset that reduced the stress of everyday life. As long as I completed what absolutely had to be completed, I would call it a day and save the rest for another time.

Unfortunately in today’s “get it done yesterday” world of deadlines too many people are swallowed up in jobs that consume them. Bosses forget their employees have an outside life and if you work for yourself your job becomes your life. Just remember, until the day you die, you will always have something to do. If you don't slow down that day may be coming sooner than you think.

The Sad State of Good Customer Service

2008-08-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

When I like to think about customer service, I like to think about GOOD customer service.Good customer service is when someone greets you with a smiling face or a happy voice. They genuinely are interested in you and what can they do to help you. If there is a problem, they take the time to listen and work to find a solution. If it is just a general transaction, they are attentive and make sure everthing goes smoothly. Their main goal is have you walk away or hang-up with a sense of satisfaction and a good feeling about the company they represent.

It is right about now when I awake from this dream and am faced with the current state of customer service we as consumers face on a daily basis. Not that it's all bad, but I have experienced such poor service it makes me question how certain companies are still in business.

Good customer service begins and ends with a company's attitude toward providing it. Senior management must develop a company wide culture that embraces excellent service as a cornerstone of doing business. It does not begin at the ground floor, rather it starts at the top and must trickle down through the entire company.

If your front-line employees, who happen to have the most contact with your customers, don't understand how important it is to treat people in a proper fashion, you will never develop a consistant, quality approach to customer service.

As a high level manager or business owner, take the time to evaluate your company's current track record in relation to proving good customer service. If what you find isn't good,take whatever steps you can to correct it. Most customers do not voice their displeasure, rather they just stop calling or showing up.

The Ever Changing Marketing Plan

2008-08-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

The beginning of every year I would work on a comprehensive market plan for our company. This thirty page document covered every aspect of our past year's results and our plans for the coming year. It would take two to three weeks to complete and occupy most of my time for the month of January. The main reason I hated this project was that I knew once it was done, we would never look at it again until the following January.

When I started my own company, I developed a one page marketing plan that basically followed an outline clearly stating my goals and objectives and defining the proper strategies to achieve them. I have redesigned that plan three times already this year and will probably revise it one more time before the end of the year. It is a living, breathing document that holds me accountable for my actions. I change things that aren't working, expand things that are, and have no fear completely changing directions if conditions warrant it.

Fight the temptation to get locked into a plan. Give yourself the freedom and flexibility to change and adapt. Once I got myself out of my old box of sticking to the same tactics whether they moved the dial or not, I became much more effective in my approach to growing my business.

Be Patient but Persistent

2008-08-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

When I started my own consulting company a little over a year ago, one of the first things I did was develop a Mission and Vision statement as well as my Core Values for my company. Two of my core values are patience and persistence. At the time I never realized how hard it would be to keep these core values front and center in my approach to growing my business. While at face value they seem to oppose each other, in reality they compliment one another. You can not successfully be persistent without being patient. You have to know when to apply the pressure and when to hold back and let nature take its course.

In a past life as a sales and marketing director for a beverage distribution company I would have never been described as being patient. I certainly was persistent, almost to the point of being unbearable.I rarely took the time to let things develop and often made rash decisions without having all the necessary information. I didn't have patience to evaluate alternative courses of action. Most of the time this approach actually worked, but the times it didn't proved disastrous.

I practice patience everyday of my life as I have come to realize the world doesn't always move at my pace. I continue to be persistent because it is the only way I know how to keep moving forward. These two core values are vital in creating a balanced approach to both business and life.

Professional Courtesy and Communication

2008-07-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

In today's fast paced world most people are constantly pressed for time. Communication is shifting from face to face meetings and phone calls to text messages and e-mail. Given the fact you face a constant barrage of electronic messages on a daily basis, it is hard to promptly respond to everyone as fast as you would like.

You probably prioritize your messages and respond accordingly. This system makes the most sense as you try and clear up issues that require immediate attention. What do you do with the rest? If you don't have some sort of system in place to address all your messages, I guarantee some secondary issues will fall through the cracks. What is important to one person isn't always important to someone else. I send countless e-mails out every week that are never responded to. Obviously they aren't important or relevant to the person I sent them to. Professional courtesy doesn't allow me the same luxury. I respond to every e-mail I receive from some I know, whether it is a good friend or a casual business acquaintance. If they took the time to reach out to me, the least I can do is return the favor.

There will never be enough time to do everything you want to do on any given day. Once you accept this fact your life instantly becomes easier. Start taking the time to respond to everyone who deserves one. If it's a pesky salesman, simply tell him no you are not interested. At least they'll know you read their message. If it's an old friend, send them a quick reply. They will feel better you remembered who they were. If it is an invitation, RSVP. If it is someone you are not sure who it is, respond anyway. It may be a business opportunity in the making.

Faceless communication is a way of life. Start to treat it as if the person who initiated the contact was sitting right in front of you. Take the time to respond whether it is good, bad, or indifferent. It is just a matter of professional courtesy.

InBev buys Anheuser-Busch

2008-07-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

I worked in the beer wholesaling industry most of my adult life. My grandfather started our company in 1954 and in 1968 we aquired the rights to distribute Anheuser-Busch products in our area. We sold the company in 2005 to a neighboring Anheuser-Busch wholesaler. While I always thought we would pass the company down to the next generation, selling when we did was the right move. There comes a time in every business, no matter how big or how small when change is the best course of action. While it is sad to see Anheuser-Busch , the Great American Beer Company, sold to a foreign company, it really isn't a surprise. Global consolidation of the beer industry has been going on for years. This was the most logical move for Anheuser-Busch to make in respect to their stockholders as well as their employees. This move ensures that Budweiser will always be The King of Beers.