Satisfied customers are your best sales force, but are you paying attention to the ones that are doing the work for you?

Next time you get a clear referral, don’t miss a beat in contacting the person who gave it. Make sure that you thank them for the business. If at all possible, reward them somehow, give them a discount, a gift card, take them out to lunch. Whatever you do. never let a referral go unnoticed.

If you notice and appreciate the business they send you, they’ll do it again.

Major sales teams almost always have bonus programs, are you rewarding your “sales force?”

In Building a Power Sales Force I discussed how to manage sales teams, Today i’ll try to give some good tips on running a sales meeting.

One of the sales manager’s main responsibilities is collecting and dispersing information. If your choice is to do this in a morning sales meeting, there are some simple steps to follow so that you can make the most out of both the meeting itself, and the day that follows it as a whole.

Most people don’t like meetings

Routine meetings are boring. If you have nothing that really require them to sit there, try to keep it as short as possible. Or consider skipping the meeting entirely. There are many ways of disseminating information; it doesn’t have to happen in a meeting. Starting off the day by boring people to tears is a bad way to get results.

Feedback doesn’t have to happen in the morning

You need information, but you also need to remember that some aren’t comfortable speaking up with ideas and concerns in a meeting environment. Don’t limit or demand feedback during a meeting, it will only cause those that are uncomfortable to begin with to close up and forget what they wanted to say.

Ask for feedback and leave the method open. Emails, open-door policy meetings, or a quick water-cooler conversation work just as well, and you allow the staff to deal with it when they are comfortable. The most effective is to ask for emails, this allows for ideas and concerns to be communicated as they occur - Which is easier to do than remember it for the next meeting.

The good after the bad

Always start with the bad news. It is better to start low and finish high for motivational purposes. When problems need to be addressed; Do it in a non-confrontational manner. Never criticize a single employee or a team in an open forum. But leave the problem to stand on its own without pointing fingers or assigning blame in any other fashion. A meeting is not the place for reprimands. Also, if you have an accolade for someone, treat is as a singular positive. Don’t use it to rub in the others’ faces.

Go from Bad to Good, never the other way around. Ending a meeting on a sour note is counter-productive since your job is to motivate. If you have no good news, talk about general motivation, or give encouragement or guidance on techniques you think could improve performance. Try to avoid getting on a high horse, or placing any emphasis on how great you would do if you were selling. You’re not there to make yourself look good, motivating and leading your team to perform is what will achieve that for you.

Remember to: KEEP

K eep It Brief
E ncourage feedback - don’t demand it
E nd on the good news
P ositive - Motivate and encourage

Thank you for your time, Please remember to Subscribe to this blog for more management tips.

Commuting costs are growing as the reason for employees changing jobs. With gas prices continuing to skyrocket and no end in sight, every business out there should be considering changing their schedules around and give their employees an extra day off.

The price of gas rose so fast that many got caught in a situation that is unmanageable. Large vehicles are losing their second hand value as fast as gas prices are rising. For many it is now almost impossible to get out from under a car payment on these gas guzzlers. The only viable option is to find a job closer to home, or move closer to work. Most will chose to change jobs given those options.

When asked, most employees would accept a 10 hour workday 4 days a week in order to get a three day weekend. It just makes sense to most people to sacrifice a little to earn what feels like a lot. And a 20% reduction in commuting costs makes this an even better idea. For those with small children, an additional savings on child care can really top the cake.

The financial cascade effect of not going to work one day is so far reaching that it actually outweighs a pay-raise to most employees. Not to mention that the three day weekend is appealing in itself.

If your company has the potential for moving the schedule around to accommodate a 4 day workweek, you will most likely see your employee retention increasing. Most companies can accommodate this is one way or another. And because of increased open hours, may actually see an increase in sales when they begin to be more accessible to other time zones.

Work with your employees as much as possible, there is nothing more profitable than human capital retention in the long run.

Streamline your finances for starting a business

With the economy in a crunch, many are considering whether starting a business is even possible - let alone wise. With the right planning it is not only feasible, it can become very rewarding both financially and on a personal level. With the wrong - or no - planning, you are certain to head for a quick disaster.

If you are planning to start a business but lack the funding to keep going for long, you need to set up the business for a shoestring startup. This is where your personal finances will come in to play. You will without question be the largest money drain on your company. Keeping yourself alive and both mentally and physically healthy is imperative. There are several ways you can do this, the most important are finding ways to maintain close to the standard of living that you have currently, a sharp decline in living standards will be a de-motivating and can cause you to lose the drive you need more than anything.

Here are some tips on how to set your life and finances up to manage a reduced cash flow for the first 12 months.

Ten Ways to Cut Expenses

1. Change providers

Most competing companies will offer tremendous savings to change phone, internet, Television, cell phone and other services. Some have this offer for a full year. In my area I can right now change TV, Internet, Phone, and save about 50% on my current bill the first year.

If you are going to do this, do it before you start your business, simply because you want to make sure that everything works before you are stuck without phone and internet when you are trying to run an online business.

2. Learn how to cook

Cooking your own meals is both healthier and much cheaper than the alternatives. If you save your entertainment for one night a week and some business lunches, you will save a large amount of money. There are plenty of recipes that will serve a family of four a healthy and tasty dinner for under $10. The internet Is a great resource for recipes.

3. Defer your student Loans

If at all possible, make a deferment of your student loans while in the startup phase. You may free up a significant amount of money each month during the critical phase.

4. Use Your Current Benefits.

If you are currently employed and either facing a layoff, or planning to quit. Use the insurance to its fullest as a precautionary measure. Dental work is much cheaper if caught early, as are most medical issues you might face. To go uninsured as a small business owner is not recommended but in many cases the norm, if this is your only option because of cost. Then make sure you get all your checkups, refill your prescriptions, and do your vision / dental work before you leave your old job. An ounce of prevention is worth thousands of dollars in this case.

5. Change Cars

If you have a currently high payment on a vehicle. Do some shopping around to see if you can get a car with lower payments and a better warranty situation than what you are driving now. In addition to the cost savings if something breaks, you are likely to find a car with better gas mileage, which is something that no small business can afford to overlook right now.

6. Buy from failed companies

If you are facing a layoff because your company is closing, talk to management about buying out assets such as computers and printers, office supplies etc. You can buy everything you need for your own business at bargain basement prices.

One of my clients bought his entire office. From his desk, computer and printer to the potted plants and all the paper he will need for the next five years, for $50 from the company that he worked for when they had to close.

If you can’t buy from your old company, check listings such as Craigslist, for other companies going out of business.

7. Shop in bulk. But only after you learn to organize

If you have access to one, join a membership store such as Sam’s or Costco. This will allow you to accomplish a couple of things at once. You will buy larger amounts, reducing the number of trips necessary. These stores also have deals on office supplies that will beat the ordinary stores by a mile.

However, you will need to plan and organize your shopping or you will end up spending more in these stores than you would otherwise.

8. Consolidate your Credit Cards

Consider getting a new credit card with a 0% interest on balance transfers. Many companies offer this for a full year. This will save you quite a bit of money in interest, which will free up a little extra cash to get you by.

9. Move to a cheaper place to live

If you are a renter, you might consider moving to a smaller or less expensive apartment to further reduce the total overhead. A smaller apartment will both have less rent and most likely also save you money on utilities.

10. Plan your taxes

Small companies run from your home can have some major tax benefits; you are allowed to make certain deductions for a home office as well as the accompanying utilities, different mileage rules will apply for driving etc. Since you are responsible for paying your own taxes now, having this figured out in advance will allow you to use the money these deductions will save you right away, instead of getting them back in a year.

Before you start this process, check with your accountant on how to do it properly. The home office deduction is jokingly referred to as the “Audit Me Deduction”. If you mess with the tax man you will quickly end up paying more than the best planning could save you.

You can start a business on a shoestring budget and still maintain a good quality of life if you plan your finances properly. These tips will help get you through the first year, which is the hardest part of any startup. Having your ducks in a row before you take the plunge will be one of the best time investments you can do, and it will help save your sanity, not just your money. Remember that although some of these tips will improve your overall financial status, this is primarily intended to free up capital for year one.

Doing it right also means you can show a future investor you managed to start the business using very little capital. Showing that you have your act together and that you are willing to take a hit to make it big. Not a bad sales proposition to bring to the table.

Your business is waiting for you; plan to succeed and you will get there sooner than you think.

One of the hardest things I find teaching supervisors and managers is to avoid addressing problems.

No I don’t mean ignoring it. I mean avoiding the urge to snap to action and leave common sense and temperance in the dust. Remember that you are there to strengthen the company, not run your mouth off to make yourself feel like you are doing your job.

Some problems naturally have to be fixed immediately. That’s one thing. Creating a solution that accomplishes the overall goal is imperative in most operations. If you have a late receptionist, fill the slot immediately until they arrive. Even if this means you have to do it yourself. That is after all what you were hired to do. Ensure that necessary work gets done.

The Late Employee

When a new employee arrives late, most managers will make a point of describing to this employee why that is not acceptable. And make some statement as to why it shouldn’t happen again. If you actually hired an employee that has not yet understood this basic principle, you really need to review your hiring practice. Not addressing their late arrival as a problem - as hard as this might be - is actually the smart thing to do.

The poor person is probably sweating bullets, kicking themselves and worrying like no other that they are going to lose the job. Adding to that stress is not going to accomplish anything positive. The person is expecting "the talk" and has already raised every fortification they have against it. You will be talking to a person who now is defensive and will begin to resent you instead of listening to you. It is the completely wrong time to address this.

The knife is sharp - The universe is big - And I love to state the obvious

The scolding "you’re late" comment is probably one of the dumbest ones a manager ever utters. The employee knows that they are, they know that you know, and thereby you are stating the obvious in order to make a point that doesn’t need to be made. Making you seem like a complete troglodyte in both thinking and interpersonal qualities. Not to mention that you are actually accomplishing the wrong thing.

A chronic latecomer will not improve with the initial "talk" for more than a short period. And thereby the problem has not been solved but instead has been worsened in that you are spending time energy and money training a person for longer that IS in fact a chronic latecomer.

The Smart Approach

Remember that you hired a reasonably intelligent individual, who most likely is not a tardy person by nature and leave it at that.

Greet them like any other day, ask if everything is ok. Most of the time, the employee will apologize and explain what happened without you having to go of the offensive. Be non-judgmental, after all, you’ve probably gotten stuck in traffic once or twice yourself.

What you will create is an instant relaxation, allowing the person to return to their duties feeling good about the job and the people they work with, making them even less likely to want to disappoint anyone. The mere shock of NOT getting the "talk" will completely bypass their defensive mindset, and you will reach them on a completely different level. They know that you are aware of their late arrival. They also know that you are not the type of person who is more interested in making them feel bad than anything else.

If you hired a chronic latecomer, the chance to have this talk will re-occur, which is when you should address it. To stress an employee, who isn’t late by habit, is non-productive at best and damaging in every other instance.

Basic Glossary

Instead of: "You’re Late!" - Try "Hi!"
Instead of: "Why are you late?" - Try "Are you ok? "
Instead of: "That’s not acceptable" - Try: Biting your tongue and go get a coffee, and while your at it bring one for the late employee too, they could probably use some.

Is your approach bringing, or stopping traffic?

Both StumbleUpon and Digg have the potential to be real traffic boosters for your website or blog. They can also put an effective roadblock on your attempts to make it anywhere if you and your friends are not using them the right way.

You have to remember that these networks were not designed to drive traffic to you; they were designed with their own well being in mind. Not yours. Users who want more than they give are not going to be very successful.

Digg and StumbleUpon both rely on people to submit and vote on content. They have complex algorithms for calculating what stories should be promoted to popularity status and which ones shouldn’t. The common thread for these calculations is that they attempt to stop users from manipulating the system, and they are pretty successful at it. Far too many users are trying to manipulate the system to get traffic, this will be hard to do and is the primary reason why it isn’t working. There is a much easier way to use the system that will inevitably get you traffic - and a lot of it.

What is the Right Way?

1. Participate
This is the base for all Social Networking success. Be an active part of the network so that you add as much as you hope to receive. However, as you will see later in this post. Mindless participation doesn’t do much.

2. Think about what the network wants
The Networks both want users to submit and vote on GOOD content, they have checks and balances to make sure that the votes counted are worth something.

3. Comment
Commenting shows the system that you are giving this article more attention, which automatically will make a comment worth more than just a vote.

A Closer Look at Digg

Digg has the option to shout pages to your friends. Since Digg wants to promote good content. Do you think they are going to give a vote where the reader isn’t looking at the article first? For Digg, the key is to either submit the vote from the page with a button on the article, or use that hyperlink before you click digg. If you vote without looking at what you are voting for; Digg will know and compensate accordingly.

When I have shouted a Digg article to friends, the total amount of traffic is directly related to how many hits I get from that shout. I’ve had articles with 30 diggs but only 4 actual hits. In other words, the people that dugg the article didn’t read it. The total amount of traffic there was about 20 hits.

Then I have had articles with about as many hits and 20 hits from the shout. Which gave me a total traffic of over a hundred. Digg’s algorithm saw that people were actually reading the article before voting and kept it higher on their pages for longer.

StumbleUpon

Stumble is different, when you thumb up an article there, the best "value" of a vote is when the user arrived at that page because of the Stumble button. Not if they vote from the article itself.

A stumble always happens from the page or article, so the problem encountered at Digg with users not actually reading the page isn’t present. What I am fairly sure about thought is that Stumble will look at how long you spend on a page before voting. A lot of testing has shown that Votes inside of a couple of seconds after arriving don’t count for much there.

Commenting for Traffic

If you really want to be an active part of the community and become a powerful voter, you have to comment. Your comments are worth a lot more than your clicks. Comments on your post will drive it up the algorithm scales much quicker than votes will. If you comment on others, they will comment on you. It’s that simple.

Choose your friends wisely

It is easy to just go ahead and slam on as many friends as possible, thinking that it will boost your power and traffic as a result. This is not necessarily true at all.

On Digg for instance. Having a lot of friends will actually make articles you submit and shout harder to get promoted to popular. There are reports that people with a lot of friends are seeing this effect clearly although it is not documented on their site. Also votes inside your network aren’t worth as much as votes that are completely unrelated to you. Having a lot of friends that aren’t’ reading and voting is actually slowing you down.

On Stumble, You are limited to 200 friends, this seems like a lot, but if those friends are added randomly without understanding what they are looking for, they might actually not be your best option.

Chances are that if your friend isn’t interested much in your topic, they are not going to vote you up when they get to your pages. If you aren’t getting thumbs up, then you are not getting the benefit of them promoting it to their networks. This will immediately show up in your numbers.

Avoid the temptation of adding anyone and everyone that you can find, add the people that show interest in your items already, if they vote on your articles, they are likely to want to read more of them in the future and do it again.

Make friends in your own topic area, they are also looking for your information and will have friends that are doing the same. This is where your traffic will come from.

Finally never underestimate the power of good content. The same old story will always be true, good content will always do better than bad. Work on your writing and the results will show up.

Good luck, and if you liked this, I hope that you will Digg or Stumble it as well.

I came across a post today from John Jantsch over at Ducttape Marketing called "Staying Top of Mind" that raised some interesting pointers.

He mentions that he got a note from a new employee at a supplier introducing herself. She wasn’t his account rep, and she didn’t try to sell anything. Above all else, the note was handwritten.

John notes how positive his reaction and how the handwritten note is something that has gone the way of the Dodo for most companies. He is right; a handwritten note is the most personal thing you can do that doesn’t involve actual conversation. Not standing out of the crowd by doing something that simple is a missed opportunity.

I often recommend including a short handwritten note when you bill a customer. You can make the whole process of invoicing a part of your marketing strategy. You take the not-so-popular invoice and move it to a communication tool more than a simple "pay me please" transaction.

This also has an additional benefit, if the company is medium sized or larger, chances are that someone other than your contact is dealing with the invoices. Getting a personal note in that envelope means that they are going to be aware of it and it actually lessens the risk of your invoice being lost in the shuffle.

You also gain the benefit of communicating with the customer on a regular basis, you should never go more than three - four weeks (four is the outside) to communicate with your customer, or they will start to lose sight of you. Out of sight, out of mind. Eventually, you’ll be out of a deal too.

In the end, it all comes down to relationships, when you send someone a handwritten note, you are making an effort to be personal, and that effort is hardly ever lost on the recipient. We are getting so used to not being personal and personable that a simple handwritten note now is a way to stand out.

If you can you think of a more low-cost way to maintain and improve the customer relationship, I’d love to hear it.

This is the beginning of my marketing tips of the day.
No I’m not going to give you crappy advice and tell you to give me your email address to get 10 more bad ideas. Or try to sell you the 4000 ways to make a gazillion either (I hate those sites as much as the next person). So I am going to do the apparently unthinkable… I’m going to post a simple, tested marketing tip every day that you can use to improve your marketing. And all you have to do is read and decide if you want to try it.

The Business Card

In “Get the right business card” I discussed the prime real estate on the back of business cards; this blank canvas that can be used for so many things.

The tip is to put something on the back of the card that will make the customer contact you. A coupon is perfect. Come up with what service or product you can give a new customer for free or at a discount, make sure it has value and watch the calls come in.

Benefits

1. Often the business card is hard to track how useful it is. (Especially if you hand out a lot). With a traceable metric like a free product or service given, you will quickly learn how effective your canvassing is when you hand them out.

2. You get in touch with the customer. This is the key issue to get future sales, once the ice has been broken. You have the potential for return business. Providing that the customer got the experience he or she was expecting from the coupon.

3. If you collect the card, you can have the customer give you their contact information on the back of it.

Drawbacks

1. You’ll have to get new business cards - This is an expense, but actually not a very high one considering the return of investment I’ve seen using this technique. You can get 1000 double sided cards printed for just under $70 if you look around a little.

2. There is a cost involved in giving something away for free. However, providing you do a little homework we can beat this cost. The trick is to come up with a product or service offering that is either discounted to break even at worst. Or have something that will yield a high conversion rate to return business.

 3. The customer loses the business card if you collect it. Overcome this by either just stamping it, or better yet replacing it with a new one without the coupon. But maybe something else on the back that will bring them back for more.

Press Releases are becoming popular marketing tools to many businesses. Not only does it provide a chance to get some great and low cost coverage through news outlets. It also helps accomplish what most businesses are looking for right now - Search Engine Optimization.

The SEO Angle

A well written press release provides you with increased visibility for your Website. Once it gets posted, it will add a series of keywords to your listing on search engines. Do this enough times and you will be much more likely to end up on the front page of Google, Yahoo and the others. Because it is a relevant text, this is a perfect White Hat approach to SEO.

An Image of importance

When you release news, you are projecting an image of importance about your company to the public. News are by definition about something that people should know, the mere fact that it is a press release makes it appear more important than basic Ad Copy. It becomes a matter worth noting. Press releases are powerful because of just this tool. It is information that in itself isn’t trying to sell the reader anything. When you are not trying to sell, the reader will drop their guard and note the information much more readily.

Communicate and Motivate

Press releases are a form of communicating, if you post them on your own website, chances are that customers will read them and know more about your company and what you are accomplishing. By having a steady stream of Press Releases appearing, you are showing that your company is on the move. This creates an image of success that will not be lost on your customers.
You can also use press releases to communicate milestones, new hires etc. When this happens, you are sending a strong message to the employees. Showing employees that they are important and that their accomplishments are noteworthy is a great way to build moral.

Get going
Press Releases are powerful tools, well written and newsworthy releases can give you more bang for your buck than most other forms of marketing activities. You will build awareness, improve your brand and build your business without having to spend a fortune doing it.
There is little or no reason to miss an opportunity like the press release, the cost is low and the rewards potentially very high.

You are a startup and/or an entrepreneur. Money is tight and you are thinking about how to make the most of your marketing budget.
The business card should be your first step. It’s like a pair of pants; you never leave home without them, and just like pants, even though having them won’t mean you are the new mogul. Not having them WILL make your customers think you may be just a little strange.
Do yourself the favor of getting professional looking clean business cards. By all means, be original if that is something that you think describes you and your company. However, there are a few do’s and don’ts to consider.

1. Don’t use “cool” materials.

Plastic, metal, cloth, even the high gloss cardstock will definitely make a statement. However, you can’t write on them. And writing on your card is something that you will want to do at one time or another. This is something that I will guarantee you. If you have a good quality cardstock for your cards, writing an extra phone number, a personal note or something else on it will be easy. Try that one on a piece of Tartan Cloth.

2. Don’t get fancy with the text.Use clear and readable fonts, try to stick to one or max two font choices for the card. There is nothing worse than needing bright task lighting and a magnifier to find out what your phone number is. It might be a conversation topic, but it won’t help you get a sale when the customer tries to get in touch with you.

3. Avoid the photo background

The photo background can if used correctly be very effective. However, more often than not I get cards where the picture and text haven’t been placed with consideration to each other, making some parts of the text disappear in the background. Again, not the thing you want from a business card. It also normally means you get a glossy card – the ones you can’t write on.

4. Use the real estate

If you owned a lot in Manhattan, you would quickly find something to put on it. Just letting it sit empty wouldn’t make any sense to anyone. Incredibly, most people leave the back of their cards blank. This is prime real estate; you can put any number of things there to make you stand out. Anything from a company description, your mission or vision statement, a motivational saying or quote, the potential is endless.
One of my favorites for startup businesses is to put a “coupon” on the back of the card. This not only makes you stand out, but it makes your prospects more likely to actually call you.

5. Get help

Almost all of us know someone with artistic talent, and professional graphic designers are not that uncommon either. Maybe you know one that you can get help from. Maybe they will want you to pay them but you’ll get a reduced rate, maybe they will give you a boost for free.
If nothing else, ask as many people as possible what they think of the card before you order it. Do your own marketing research before you spend the money. You might not be seeing what the rest of the world sees.
As a perfect example, I was recently working with a startup company that did their own design work. The logo looked great in full size, but when scaled down to fit on a business card, one part of it stood out to look like a certain part of the male anatomy. If they were selling Viagra, this could have been a fun trick. For a web design company it might not have been the best.

6. Pick your poison

There are plenty of places online that will print good looking business cards for free (charging only shipping and handling is common. They are definitely a viable option. They will create much better quality cards than your home printer can normally spit out, and is an extremely strong cost/benefit solution.

If you have a little more available in your budget and want more design options, it may actually be a better investment to get a designed card and print them at a local printer. This however normally involves design fees as well as much higher printing costs.

Regardless of how you do it, not having a business card would be your worst mistake.