Please plan to join us for "Horror Stories from the Brink:  Understanding how Fraud Kills Growing Businesses" on Wednesday, December 1, 2010, at 11:45 AM at the Fort Worth office of Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller, LLP located in the Carter Burgess Plaza in the heart of downtown.

Our speakers are Josh Agren, CPA, and Karanae Barrey, CPA; Audit Managers at Whitley Penn LLP.

Josh and Karanae will discuss how the small business owner can protect his/her company from fraud by installing proper controls.

More details  /  Register by November 26, 2010

Business has changed, but one thing that hasn't is the lure of a special sale. We sometimes have special one-day sales where we offer a discount on all of our parts. The fact that people only have one day to get the special price makes them act quickly, and also generates a lot of attention.
 
To help offset the sale prices, we contact our vendors to tell them what we're doing, and ask if they will discount our purchases during the sale day. A majority of the vendors we ask will extend 5-10 percent discounts to all of our purchases that result from the sale. This helps us generate even more cash from the sale day and it allows us to place stock orders at a lower price to fulfill orders that arrive after the sale day has passed.
 
Matthew Hartzog, Leader Industries, Inc., Stafford Springs, CT

With all the information we give to employees, it's easy to lose the really important messages in the deluge of information. When I have a key initiative, a major announcement, or some exceptional recognition to communicate, I do it with video. A short clip, perhaps illustrated by 4 or 5 slides, has far more impact than any usual memo.  

The same approach works with marketing. People will often take the time to watch a short video, especially if it's engaging or humorous. They don't always take the time to read or look at traditional advertising. A simple digital video camera and basic video editing software will help you convey your message easily via e-mail or on your website. 

Gerald Stowers, Execupay, San Antonio, TX

While doing market and competitor research, I recently came across a website called Top Ten Reviews that will compare the top ten competitors in a variety of categories. It is a powerful tool that can cut down your research time and provide a checklist that compares to similar providers. The website compares companies on a wide array of variables, which really helps in the qualification and assessment process.

And the site helps even if you are looking at a company that is not listed on the site because with all the points of comparison provided, you will know exactly what questions you should be asking of any company in that market space.

Ronen Neutra, Neu-tec Group Inc., Farmingdale, NY

If you're looking to conduct market research on a budget, college students majoring in marketing or business can be a cost-effective and efficient resource. Among other tasks, these students can help you find and develop lists of companies to prospect and identify the correct contact people for your sales team.

As with any independent contractor, be sure to set specific goals, such as number of companies and number of correct contact persons and monitor the students' performance and progress twice a day.

As part of the process, conduct an introduction or appointment setting call with a prospect--with the students sitting in on that call so they clearly understand what you are trying to accomplish. They'll see the broader purpose of their role and will be better able to help you find new sales contacts.

Gary DeLorenzo, Clear Horizon Group, Huntington, NY

If you receive a lot of calls on your cell phone, you may want to use the free voice mail service offered by Google Voice. You get a free number and you can set up different calling groups, such as one for potential customers, one for current customers and one for employees. Each group can have a different greeting and different forwarding rules. If you are out often, you can easily change your greeting, or even have a different greeting for different people in your contact list.

If Sprint is your mobile provider, setting Google Voice as your default voice mail is also free. So once you have it set up, you can ask people to call that number and their calls will be forwarded to one or multiple phones.

Diego Prusky, InStyle Digital Marketing, St. Louis, MO

LinkedIn® Classes - November and December

More information and registration.