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| Quick Tips |
Free Films for Sales Meetings
I recently began using free movie clips from www.simpletruths.com to add variation and deliver strong and inspirational messages during my weekly sales meetings. The team has enjoyed these and the cost (free) - is perfect.
Tom Richter
CT Financial Network
Murray, UT
Understanding the Effect of Budget Cuts
If you're making budgetary cuts due to the current financial environment, don't forget to take notes. When things are good, you can review these notes to learn what items can painlessly be removed and increase profits and what should be left alone.
Matt Hanner
Carmel Building and Design
Carmel, CA
Planning for Business Sale
When beginning the process of developing an exit strategy, get a business evaluation early. This will help you determine who should be on your exit team and help develop the dashboard to prepare for the sale.
Gary Allietta
Bromley Financial Advisory
Grand Rapids, MI |
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| Now Available: Click on the above book cover to order your copy of The Wall Street Journal business book best-seller the 9 Elements of Family Business Success by Allen E. Fishman, Founder and Chairman of The Alternative Board®. |
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Taking the Pulse of Phoenix-Based Business Owners |
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We're constantly taking the pulse of Phoenix-based business owners regarding their perspective on the economy and their businesses; as a subscriber to this newsletter, you have ongoing access to the perspective of fellow business owners. See the results of our most recent one-question survey. We'll provide you with the opportunity to participate in ongoing polls in the future. Our surveys almost always will take less than 5 seconds to complete.
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The Power of an Additional Perspective |
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Most of us started or acquired our own businesses because we have self-confidence, and we believe we know best how to deliver a quality product or service in our given field, and we know how to generate revenues and profits along the way. That self-confidence and that belief in our own know-how are critical elements to our success. It is those beliefs that enable us to forge forward doing what must be done and often almost will our own success to happen. Self-confidence is a tremendous quality for anyone to possess, and it is downright critical for the business owner or entrepreneur.
However, we must never confuse self-confidence with arrogance or over-confidence. The best business owners also know that they DON'T know everything. They are constantly searching for new ideas. They are constantly seeking to "steal" or "borrow" from the experiences of others in order to make their path to success a little bit easier. They know that hearing the ideas of others not only gives them access to those new ideas, but it stimulates their own minds to think in whole new ways and develop brand new ideas of their own.
The formation of PHXBusinessOwners.org and the distribution of this newsletter are just two of the free ways that we have chosen to help share information that may be of use to you. We hope these help to generate great new thinking of your own. For the owner who is even more committed to achieving success by gaining valuable insights of others, we also offer access to a truly powerful means for achieving your goals; we interview business owners to see if they have the right stuff to join The Alternative Board. The essential and critical counsel and value The Alternative Board® consistently delivers to small and medium size businesses, and the immediate impact it brings to its clients organizations is an essential element for any organization that intends to thrive. Contact us if you'd like to see if you have what it takes to become a part of The Alternative Board. Regardless, though, enjoy the newletter, and visit us often at www.PHXBusinessOwners.org!
Also, join us and hundreds of other Phoenix-based business owners in one of our Social Media Groups. The links are located in the margin to the left of this article. |
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| Press Releases in a Down Economy |
Even with a declining economy, it is important to keep your company name and brand in front of customers and prospects. This can be done with next to no advertising dollars, if you invest in public relations. Make sure any company news, especially upbeat features, is sent in press releases to local, regional or national publications. Editors are always looking for content-especially if you include graphics or photographs. Contact your local radio and television media with interesting ideas-such as what you are doing during the downturn to maintain or increase your market share, what you are doing to expand or maintain employment levels or how you are contributing to your community. Then, any published material, news spots or radio programs can be forwarded to your customers, added to your Web site or sent to new prospects.
Norine Carlson-Weber, Alpha Source Inc., Milwaukee, WI |
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| Clearly Communicate with Your Clients |
It is not enough to sell clients on the benefits of doing business with you-you must also collect your money. We take the time to explain everything we will do for them and rarely explain their required performance and expectations! Make it clear to your clients after the account is sold that each of us has a performance responsibility. Their responsibility is to pay for the services on time (and any other requirement you may have)! Communicate the rules upfront with your clients to guarantee a great relationship. If the client doesn't completely understand and agree with the responsibilities of each party at the beginning of your relationship, then it will be very difficult to overcome later. You get what you tolerate-communicate-make it clear up front!
Richard Gaynor, Middleton and Company, Newton, NJ
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| A New Marketing Frontier -
Social Media Marketing |
| Social media marketing is no longer for kids. Combat the recession and return to the basics of marketing through relationship building. People do business with who they know and trust. Social media marketing is free, easy and effective. Recommended sites include Facebook and LinkedIn.
Terry Low, Byte Technology, Appleton, WI |
| Dealing With Problem Employees |
Problem employee? They are never fun to deal with. When handling a challenging employee, drop their salary and write down a very specific plan they have to meet over time (two to three months, etc.) - and if they don't achieve the agreed upon goals, let them go. Don't be vague, be overt! Lastly, make sure the employee signs the agreement stating what needs to be done.
Lou Schornack, Criterion Technology Corp., Rollinsville, CO |
| Scheduling Strategy Planning Sessions |
Schedule your corporate strategy planning sessions during your slower business periods. There are peak times for some businesses when it may be necessary for a business owner to work IN his or her business. Review your sales trends and block off strategic planning time during the sales "valleys". One obvious strategy may be to look at developing business opportunities during these "valleys" to even out cash flow.
TAB Winnipeg Board, Winnipeg, MB |
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| Difficult Layoff Decision |
I took the collective advice from my TAB Board and made a difficult decision regarding layoffs. I made the decision without including my GM as I thought it was important to do it without his input. I talked with each employee and asked them the following six questions:
- Do you understand the current state of the company? Last year's profit/loss? This year's profit/loss?
- Is there anyone you feel this company does not need?
- Do you feel the CEO pulls his own weight?
- Do you feel the GM pulls his own weight?
- Do you feel "safe" working here?
- Is there one thing you can do to help this company move forward?
I asked questions two and three to discern if the employees felt management was taking a free ride or if they noticed that management was working every possible angle to improve the company. I asked question five to discern if the employee felt they were irreplaceable-I received mixed answers on this. I asked question six to hold them accountable for a commitment to make one improvement to help the company-some employees tried to give multiple answers but I refused to allow more than one. Overall, I decided to keep everyone and reduce payroll by 20 percent and explained that it would be restored as quickly as possible once we were profitable again. I offered 50 percent of the net income to the staff based on a board member's recommendation. To date, no one has resigned and it appears as though everyone will remain and half of the staff has signed and returned a document indicating they have agreed to the salary reductions-I expect the others to return the document as well.
Matt Ward, Central Mass Web Design Inc., Gardner, PA |
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| Manage Distractions |
When focus is critical, such as detailed numerical analysis or accuracy of data entry, interruptions break your concentration and cause you to lose momentum. Maintaining productivity in our office was a huge challenge, so to solve the problem we implemented "roundups"-short 15-minute meetings held twice per day allowing employees to share saved up issues or requests. The time in between these meetings is the "quiet zone" where, short of an emergency, much more work gets done. This has greatly improved the dynamics.
Jay Cowan, RiverCross Partners, Richmond, VA |
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| Easy Access to Financial Records |
We recently purchased a new building and are in the process of seeking loan options. We were constantly making copies of our financials and tax records that were repeatedly requested so we scanned our financials into a PDF file format to save huge amounts of time. If security is an issue, you can even encrypt the files. Now, we scan our tax documents annually so we have them available instantly.
Jay Cowan, RiverCross Partners, Richmond, VA |
ABOUT THE ALTERNATIVE BOARD®
The Alternative Board® is comprised of members who are business owners, CEOs or presidents who run businesses in non-competing fields. During a TAB Board meeting, you receive the benefit of the collective experience of the board members, who offer practical solutions to your problems-not theories.
You can learn more about TAB, which has been helping business owners succeed since 1990, by visiting www.TAB-PhoenixMetro.com
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