So, you’re an entrepreneur and own your own business. If you’ve been in business for more than seven days and served more than two customers you probably already know that there is more to business than making a sale or providing a service. there are taxes to be dealt with, licensing, documentation, legalese, lead generation and customer management. Just to name a few. If you’re like most small business owners you wear many hats. You’re responsible for inventory, sales, marketing, accounting, customer service and more. By now you have asked one question several times. Is there an easier way.

The short answer is yes. However, not usually in a single box. This article came about because I was browsing the web and found a small business toolkit that promised more, I am sure, than it could deliver. I found there were many tool kits for many business needs. All this begged an answer, what do I need in my toolkit as a small business owner.

I am going to narrow this article down to the three must have tools to keep you in business  while also having a life. The minimum tools you must have include: Customer Relationship Management or CRM, Invoicing or billing, and communication.

Let’s start with the communication. It is critical that you be available to answer customer and potential customer questions when they want answers. Unfortunately, you don’t likely have the resources or time to be available at all times. This is where a strong communication strategy and tools come in handy.

Your communication strategy should include three tools: Web presence, voicemail and literature. I recommend that all of your literature be provided online as well as hard copy.

Literature is still a valuable tool even with all the digital progress we’ve made in the past decade. I recommend that every piece of literature you might hand a customer or potential exist in digital format as well. The literature arsenal should include a detailed business brochure, business card, policies, product or service specific leaflets to inform and much more. Think about how you can make literature available and keep it handy at all times.  Making documents available for immediate access will impress many web savvy customers today. To make your documents available online you need a web site.

 Your web site should be simple, universally accessible, user friendly and loaded with valuable information. Online success is obtained with a two edged sword: search engine optimization and rich content.

 Some have called LinkedIn the new Yellow Pages. LinkedIn should also be a part of your web toolkit. there is no better way to make it easy for people to find you online. LinkedIn will automatically search engine optimize you and your business if you use it wisely.

Now that people are finding you online you will want to be virtually accessible. Voicemail is a great way to make yourself accessible even when you can’t answer the phone. Using voicemail can give your business a voice. You can use a tool like www.K7.net to setup multiple voicemail boxes, for free, to meet specific needs of customers and potentials. You might have a number customers can call for project status or updates. By simply updating the greeting daily the customer gets to hear your voice sharing relevant information they may want to know. Because they hear the information in your voice they feel connected with you and that you are really committed to them. Furthermore they can leave a message which makes them feel they can contribute. You get the messages by email and can manage the communication process without difficult to manage interrupting phone calls. A strong voicemail strategy can improve you customer relations and save you lots of time and stress.

I can help you build a stronger communication strategy and help you build it around cost free tools that will help you do business like the big dogs no matter what size your staff or budget. Just call,(724) 49BUILD or (724) 492-8453 to arrange a free consultation.

Now that you are talking to customers you need to get money out of them. The backbone of successful small business collections is having the tools to handle invoicing consistently and systematically. The software to do this can be very expensive. I have found two invoicing or billing tools you should consider for your small business toolkit. They are both free. The first I want to mention is www.zoho.com. Zoho offers Zoho invoice free for the first 5 invoice a month. If you offer a big ticket service or product this may fit your needs with little or no cost. Zoho remains very affordable when you need to manage more customers. I recommend Zoho first because they also offer other valuable tools you will want in your small business toolkit. And they work seamlessly together. another great Free tool for invoicing is www.billingboss.com. With both solutions you can have automated billing service that sharpens your image and handles balance due calculations, repeat billing, invoice reminders and even tracks overdue accounts.

Finally, the last tool I want to mention in this article is CRM. Big business has used CRM software for years with great success. The resources and affordability of modern technology make it practical for even the smallest business to automatically and systematically manage customers and contacts. With Zoho CRM I have a single stop resource for storing all of my contacts and documenting leads and potentials as they come to my attention. I can even document phone calls, schedule appointments, schedule emails to go out and start a web meeting with a client in a single click. There is no neater or more efficient way to manage your contacts. Best of all it is free for up to the first 500,000 contacts. So what’s holding you back, get started now.

The few tools I have suggested here will save you time, make you more thorough and create more opportunities for you. I am interested in growing your business momentum. My team and I are constantly researching better and cost effective ways for you to manage your business. Make www.charlesspeaks.com your first resource for small business guidance.

Social Marketing Strategies that Work

I was recently asked, “What single component makes a social media strategy outstanding?” Really the answer is very simple. However, who cares is you are effective in your social marketing strategy if you aren’t reaching the right people with the right message?

The key to any successful social marketing is to socialize the right people. The more targeted your efforts the better your results. Another consideration is that if you are making the wrong offers to groups or users with no interest you are perceived a spammer. If you are making offers and never “GIVING” any value you are perceived a spammer as well.

You can use a message across numerous groups and networks if you custom tailor it to meet the needs of that group. You might have a audio book on diffusing angry people and choose to write an article excerpt from the audio book. You can rewrite the article with keywords and solutions specific to certain groups. In example if writing to the Customer service alliance you would want to change the words in your manuscript to match. Instead of, “an angry supervisor raises his voice,” you might write, “a first time customer raises his voice.” By being very specific your writing seems more relevant and valuable.

All that being said; the most important component in any social marketing strategy is to socialize. Make sure you engage your network just as you would face to face. Ask questions, answer questions and share. The more conversational you are the more your network will warm up to you. As they warm up you build trust and credibility.

 I recommend you make a 5 minute daily commitment:

1.  Spend 2.5 minutes to check you updates and reply to any that are relevant and for which you have feedback. You should do this on both Facebook and Linkedin if appropriate and you have time.
2. Spend 2.5 minutes to browse your group’s discussions and comment when appropriate.

You can answer questions, agree, disagree and add you own additional advice and tips where appropriate. The key is to engage the network and have a conversation. Conversational networking is the best way to build trust, rapport and credibility. These will contribute to trust and help you close more sales and build strong leads.

Make sure your posts are branded and contain contact or website URL information so readers can learn more about you. I learned a long time ago that the reader may not be diligent about finding my profile and links but if they are in a post that caught their interest they are very likely to follow the link and explore my site to get to know me better.

Bill “thebuilder” is available for keynotes, seminars and custom tailored training that is guaranteed to build your business momentum. Just call or email for available dates.

937-935-6789 or charles@charlesspeaks.com

Social Media Team

As you begin implementing social media into your business growth strategy it is critical that you choose and prepare your team. A solid social media team strategy includes team members from three groups. You need to consider customers and connections as a part of your team and strategize their involvement. You should also include your employees and the value they may be able to add to your social media campaign. Finally you should consider third party team members. These may include writers, consultants and coaches. These experts can assist you in developing and keeping your social media campaign fresh and interesting.

Three simply components will help you get the most out of your effort while building a solid and well defined campaign.

Begin with solid and clear policies. A social media policy should define acceptable and unacceptable use and guidelines for use. Here are some bases you need to cover:

• Define who can and cannot access social media from the office. Often employees assume that social sites are open to all and are a free for all because the company has a social media presence.
• Define what can and cannot be shared on social networks.
• Designate time expectations and limitations.
• Appoint a social media officer to police and govern your social media.
• Establish guidelines for dialoguing with users who may post positive or negative content about your brand.

Plan campaigns and events that build on your social media presence. Companies that get the best results from social media act more like party planners than marketers. Events can be virtual or actual events hosted for your social connections.

Finally establish a content management strategy. Probably the most important component of a successful social media strategy is relevant content. It is not only important to provide high quality content. You must keep your content fresh. Rehashing what everyone is saying sin not fresh. Ask employees to share, the varied writing styles can add interest and perspective that attracts a wider audience. You can also get third party experts to contribute to your content by doing audio interviews or welcoming their articles with the incentive of posting their contact information for all of your readers. Joint ventures make it easier to keep your content fresh and build relationships that work to grow your network. Your content management strategy should include the following:

• What to post
• When to post
• Who will post
• How to post (written, audio, video & other media)

Making your social media campaign a team effort will greatly increase your results and make it easier to manage.

Project Management Critical Path

The project management critical path is the path of scheduled activities with no slack time. In other words these activities cannot slip. Work must be completed on schedule and with excellence. Unfortunately, many project leaders are a real stickler for maintaining the schedule but not the standard of excellence needed for sustainable project results.

I have audited too many projects that looked good on paper but produced less than desirable long term results. While the project completed on schedule or within budget the deliverables didn’t hold up to the test of time. Following are three safeguards that will help project managers lead project management critical path activities with excellence.

1. Communicate like the expert you are.

You are the project manager for a reason. Your leadership feels you poses the qualities needed to produce results, they trust you. If your communication is weak, however, they may not continue to trust you. Make the hard calls and ask the hard questions. even if you are met with resistance, you will earn respect for having done so. Some examples include:

• Ask for more money when sticking to the budget will create costly end results
• Ask for more time when the cost of the time will be compensated by improved results
• Negotiate unrealistic expectations regarding schedule and budget
• Explore cutting other efforts in the project to make resources available for critical path activities

Obviously, it is also important to communicate with clarity and candor with your project members. Ask your team members for a commitment to excellence. Reinforce critical path activities and follow up with responsible members frequently. In doing so, some may feel micromanaged. To overcome this use the following statement, “I want to make sure you have the support and resources you need to meet your goals, is there anything I can do for you or anything I need to know?”

2. Put your best people on critical path activities.

When delegating work and leadership, make sure your best players are on the critical path. Often these activities aren’t the most desirable responsibilities on the project so make sure people are recognized and rewarded. I often remind my leaders that the responsibility in question is of extreme importance to the projects overall success.

when human resources are spread thin you can utilize your top performers by making them responsible for overseeing work on certain activities. They become the “go to” person for the rest of the team. they may also be responsible for check-ups and follow-ups to ensure quality and timely results.

3. Prioritize your own time based on the critical path.

Many project managers really struggle with staying focused on what matters most. They tend to suffer from the “squeaky wheel” syndrome or just get caught up in the drama of leadership. Make sure others crisis aren’t becoming your priorities simply because they are experts at whining and complaining. some find it easy to spend more quality time with project members with whom they are familiar. This can be a huge time trap. Schedule time for your critical path activities and the people responsible for them. everything else comes second. Keeping your priorities in order will allow you to lead for excellence in everything.

Another time trap is taking too much responsibility for issues that are not on the critical path. The moment you realize you are managing a crisis for a non critical activity, ask yourself, “who can I delegate this to?”

Bill “the builder” Carpenter has facilitated projects in over a dozen industries. With an emphasis on clarity and quality Bill has trained and coached top performing project managers from companies like: Ford, Caterpillar, Hershey and more. He is available for keynotes, seminars and web based training programs. Call for availability 937-935-6789

 Project Management of

Regardless what you manage, why you manage and with whom you manage the number one responsibility of every project manager is to create clarity. The better you are at creating clarity the more efficiently your projects will complete. When developing the 3D methodology of project management I learned that the single greatest deficit in every project office was failure to clarify. The single most common weakness among project managers was communicating clearly. In this article I will point out the 3 main reasons we don’t clarify and how to improve our processes with the 3 laws of clarity. First, let me clarify some of the industry experience and research that shaped the 3D Methodology.

I began managing projects in the construction industry and moved on to real-estate. I have personally been involved on projects with the following organizations:

• Hershey
• National City Banks
• Hallmark
• North Alabama Health
• Waste Management
• Rockhurst University
• Many more

What I am trying to illustrate is the diversity of industries where we have applied these methods. These aren’t just suggestions or untested theory. More than 300 companies across dozens of industries have been trained in these methods and rate the content an average of 5.8 on a scale of satisfaction with a high of 6. That means our students are getting results. Another interesting statistic is that 94% of participants said they would recommend the training to others. Three percent of participants don’t complete the evaluation at all. That means 99% of our participants rate the quality of our solutions very high.

If you are responsible for the project management of health care services, food preparation, construction, manufacturing, education, or any other industry or service you must master the art of clarity. Creating clarity is an art and it is a vanishing art at that. Fortunately there are three simple laws that serve as the foundation for this critical communication skill. Once you understand and observe these laws you will see immediate improvements in all your projects. So, here they are.

1. I am responsible for the clarity in all of my conversations and communications.

I should never assume that the other party will take this responsibility. When I assume the responsibility I reduce the possibility of misunderstanding and conflict. To assume this responsibility I must do three things very consistently.

Listen with all of your listening senses. They are sight, hearing and a sixth sense we will call discernment. I might ask, “Do you understand what to do?” and the receiver says “Yes.” We both know that a verbal yes doesn’t always equal yes. Here are some examples where yes may mean other things.

• “Yes” starting off with an audible draw for breath and trailing off may mean, “yes I know what to do but I’m not sure how.”
• “Yes” said while shifting my gaze downward may mean, “I’m saying yes to save face because I don’t want to honestly admit id didn’t get it.”
• “Yes” said with a firmed jaw and lowered tone may mean, “I’m conceding because I am intimidated by you, but disagree.”

By listening for tone and tempo as well as watching for micro-expressional cue you can greatly improve your listening skills. Obviously, you want to be cautious about how you respond to your observations because discernment is more of an art than a science. If I discern much disparity between what you say and what you express it is usually a good idea to explore further.

I recommend two books that will help you with reading and understanding people:

• How to Read Any Person Like a Book by Gerard Nierenberg.
• Understanding How Others Misunderstand You by Ron Braund, Ken Voges.

Observing this law is tougher in print but the following will help you:

• Ask for read receipts with critical email communication
• Read and reread all contractual documents and correspondence used to propose services or products
• Backup all proposals and agreements for reference purpose
• Promptly respond to all discrepancies or disparity in any correspondence
• When terms are disagreeable be prompt in responding and respond with crystal clarity
• If you are unsure of the clarity in correspondence you are preparing ask someone to read and critique it
• Use the subject line to clarify the content and importance of an email message

As the project manager you must observe this law with all project correspondence whether, in meetings, documentation or daily sharing of information.

When we bring 3D project Management training to your organization your team will learn powerful communication methods that increase professionalism and performance. Call to reserve your training dates today. (937-935-6789) Please pass this article along to your HR office and anyone in your organization responsible for employee development.

2. Clarity is lost when correspondence changes hands.

It’s a fact. The originator of a message understands her objectives and may give great attention to detail. However, when the delivery of the message is handed off to another team member the message becomes diluted by the messenger’s understanding of the subject matter, values, delivery skills and even commitment to the message. If the message changes delivery hands several times the massage can be vastly different by the time it reaches its intended audience.  Here are some tips that will help you avoid dilution:

• Put critical information in writing and make it clear that the written copy must be shared with all dialogue
• Make yourself available to anyone impacted by the information for Q&A or other support
• Deliver high priority messages yourself
• Use technology to participate in the assimilation and management of information through conference calls, web based meetings and audio recordings
• Live delivery usually improves clarity
• Develop policies and guidelines for the assimilation, management and protection of information
• Insist on universal use of software and methodology in project management of resources

3. Follow-up communication improves clarity

Clarity is lost as information is contemplated and processed through personal and social filters. You might deliver crystal clear expectations to the IT department but the IT group may lose the placement of urgency on certain points simply because their priorities are different. Therefore, it becomes necessary to follow up on critical needs and requirements through follow-up correspondence and meetings. I know people hate meetings but they are a necessary evil in project management of all types. Here are some tips that will make you meeting more effective.

• Keep them short
• Keep them relevant
• Keep good minutes for no shows
• Keep agenda and schedule commitments

You can also follow-up information with emails and voicemails. Unfortunately, some may perceive a follow up as dummying them down. So consider the following:

• Follow-up consistently with everyone
• Use I statements to soften the follow-up (i.e. “I want to be sure I left nothing out…” or “I want to reinforce the importance of…”)
• Tell participants that follow-ups and reminders will be sent for clarity and support
• Be supportive (i.e. “I’m calling just to be sure you have all the resources and support you need…”)

Bill Carpenter teaches 3D Project Management through onsite and web based training venues. Simply call or email to reserve your training date. 937-935-6789 or Charles@charlesspeaks.com

Money Saved With Training Budget Cuts May Be Lost Many Times Over

because of loss of productivity, reduced safety compliance and legal liability caused by poorly trained staff, according to Governing Magazine and the B&G Report.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure this one out. People’s performance is based largely on personal habit, beliefs and values. When those habits, beliefs and values don’t result in top performance and acceptable results the only way to change those results is information. Because people’s habits and bias are deeply etched in the psyche they quickly return to poor habits and unacceptable behavior when performance is not directed through solid and applicable information. Not to mention to that people can be downright forgetful.

“Now why was it that we needed to use those safety pins? Oh well, it won’t matter this time.” This is the popular self dialogue that leads the well intentioned employee down the path of non compliance.

Consistent training serves to reinforce what we know to be best practices, correct poor performance standards and empowers consistency and congruency in the working environment to ensure the safest and most productive outcome.

I was conducting a communication training for a client with whom I had done the same training before. A gentleman who had already attended the seminar twice was obviously impressed with a solution offered and expressed an interest in sharing. He commented that he would like to have heard that in he last two presentations. I didn’t have the heart to inform him that I had in fact covered this point in the past two classes. Before I could move on, the department supervisor, with some disgust, replied that the same approach was shared in the past and that she had sent a copy of the audio to all staff to reinforce the ideas on two different occasions.

Instead of cutting training, cut training cost. Here are four things you can do that will drastically reduce the cost of your training.

1. Hire trainers who can deliver training via webinar and multimedia. You can save bi because you aren’t paying for travel and accommodations. You can deliver highly targeted training in smaller segments that have been proven to increase the benefiting results of training. Media rich training if more favorably completed and is proven to produce higher results.

2. Avoid over priced brokers who subcontract with experts to deliver training. Any of the trainers they may provide for you can be found EASILY online in minutes. These broker slash training companies can charge upwards of 3 to 5 thousand dollars for a training day and subcontract the training to a trainer they might pay $300. There is no chance you’re getting the best possible training for the dollar with that arrangement.

To find a trainer fast use Google. In example, if you need project management training you might search for, “hire a project management speaker.” Check the web sites of a few results that are not paid advertisers. Here is what you should look for on the site:

• Sample video and Audio – If it isn’t there move on fast
• Testimonies and references
• Samples of writing and other qualifications

3. Train trainers within. I have had several clients hire me to develop training and then train a few of the staff to deliver the training on an ongoing basis.

4. Supplement your training with resources. Books, ebooks, audio and video can be used to reinforce and refresh. I had one client who suggests never hiring a trainer that does not offer such supplemental resources.

Keep your team as sharp as possible. Failing to do so will cost you. You can learn more about effective and budget friendly training at www.charlesspeaks.com and my blog www.charlesspeaks.com/billthebuilder
To book training call 937-935-6789

Traditional websites just don’t pull their own weight. Times have changed, people have changed and your marketing methods must compensate. Web 2.0 is not a passing fad. Web 2.0 works for very specific reasons.

First and perhaps the most important is the very nature of people. We are naturally social and desire transparency. Web 2.0 gives us the freedom to get to know and be known by those we do business with. We are more comfortable buying when we are familiar with our options and the service provider.

The second reason Web 2.0 has worked so well is the fact that just as we are naturally social we tend to be skeptical because of bad experiences. It is easier to do business when we believe we can trust. Web 2.o empowers customers with customer feedback, sampling our products and services, familiarizing with our business model and convenient support.

Finally, Web 2.0 empowers us to reach a much larger number of prospects in less time with less effort. Because we can automate responses and share vast amounts of information we can build relationships with prospects over time through ongoing engagement. Web 2.0 solutions enable a business of any size to reach, engage and eventually convert more customers with little to no expense other than time. Time spent can be very little if the tools are used right.

It is not uncommon for the sales process to take a little longer online. So don’t expect immediate gains. However, if you continue to engage and create value for your web 2.0 site visitors you will start seeing results soon. I recommend using at least four social media solutions.

1. LinkedIn
2. YouTube
3. Twitter
4. Blogging

We have developed a package solution that any business can implement. You can have a strong Web 2.0 presence online in as little as one week including all of the above tools. You package includes a complete marketing campaign. Here is what you get:

• Brand analysis
• A Web 2.0 CUTTING EDGE Web Site that is Search Engine optimized and easy to manage
• Lead Capture system to ensure you capture as many visitors as possible
• Branded YouTube Channel (including 2 free HD video recordings)
• Branded LinkedIn Profile
• Branded Twitter Profile
• 4 hours of training to get you started
• Marketing optimized Web site Graphic design to make you brand look good
• 30 days no cost email support

Whether you have no website at all or have seen little or no results from your traditional website this proven solution is for you. It is not uncommon for a static website without all the needed tools to succeed to cost thousands of dollars. If you have been using free hosting or cheap web site solutions because you didn’t think you could budget better. Now you can.

All of this is only $1200 and your site will be functional within 21 days.

I am so sick of the excessive and misuse of the term spam. Most people define spam as any attempt at marketing. I expect soon we will here commuters complaining about all the spam messages they get on the drive to the office. I mean after all, there are bumper stickers, billboards, roadside signage and I can’t even turn on my radio without hearing an advertisement. Come on, get you head out of the sand and the negativity out of your life. Yes, marketing is going on all around us. It always has. With every technological advancement we’ve had to learn to cope and manage those messages.

Here are four guidelines that define spam. This is the official definition. This settles it. If anyone has a question about what exactly spam is–send them here.

1. Spam is an unsolicited message sent from another party assuming, with little supporting evidence,  you share an interest in them or their product or service.
2. Not all unsolicited messages are spam. If a marketer finds that you share membership in the same club or group, he or she may introduce themselves, service or product if the association by membership would merit a shared interest. Since, networking is the primary reason for many memberships it should be expected, by any sane intelligent person, that they may receive an introduction or two.
3. If a marketer incessantly sends or posts messages of a sales and marketing nature, without offering some no obligation value, he or she has crossed into the Spam Zone. This guideline is especially important in the world of networking whether actual or virtual. We network naturally and it is in our nature to become familiar with those we work or do business with. Such socialization makes it easy to build rapport, credibility and trust. These three elements are prerequisite to a healthy sales / business relationship.
4. A message with a link to a blog or other information website is not necasarily spam. In fact, as I will explain at the close, every message you send should contain contact information and a link or links that will help the recipient get to know you. Some have been using the term “spam” in reference to any message with a link; clearly a thoughtless conclusion.

All that said, if you are in business, you had better be marketing, and in today’s competitive culture, you had better be marketing aggressively. Here are some steps that will help you get ahead and generate leads with your social marketing efforts.

1. Introduce yourself and be very visible and transparent about you, your products and services, as well as who your customers are. Let people get to know you. In fact, you should not actually post any direct sales copy to your contacts until you have given, with no obligation, some value.
2. Include links in emails, direct messages, blogs and instant messages, so people can find you easily and get to know you. You may consider stating in posts with a link that this link is a bit of valuable information requiring no obligation. This may help satisfy the less than sharp paranoid type who apparently close their eyes when passing billboards.
3. Use direct contact media like email, tweets, direct messages and wall or profile posts to direct contacts to a blog or other website containing information with sales copy. Avoid posting sales copy in direct contact media.
4. Finally, try offering free gifts, content and samples. The more value you give the more your contacts learn to trust you. Samples are great incentives. Make sure the sample itself is perceived as valuable.

I strongly recommend that you read Jay Conrad Levinson’s book Guerrilla Marketing. I have the proud pleasure of sharing Guerrilla Marketing Explained, an interview with Jay Conrad Levinson exploring 7 Steps to Effective Marketing. You can’t go to a book store and get this Audio Ebook. It is available only through a few select distributors. You may listen to a sample track and access thousands of dollars in free training in audio, video and downloadable ebook format by subscribing at www.charlesspeaks.com.

Simply enter your name and email on the right side of any of my site pages, and you will be asked to confirm your subscription. You will then receive a key to unlock the vault. You may access the vault by hovering over the Momentum Resources tab at the top of the page and select the Free Resources menu option. Enter your password and enjoy.

Wow… I can’t believe that American women aren’t outraged. Women have been reduced to nothing more than the sexual play-things of men for generations. You see it everywhere, women used to promote items from car wax to now, web hosting. These ads were in poor taste at best and outrageously insult women.

If someone you know is hosting with Go Daddy you should seriously question their integrity. Why stoop to such questionable, at best, insulting, at worst,  measures to generate traffic to your business. Is Go Daddy suffering that badly? Are they that desperate for business that they define their target audience as a bunch of primate men who feel women serve only one purpose?

I know I am playing into their hands by even posting this. But I wanted to make sure I went on record as saying I am sickened by the primitive tactics Go Daddy uses in this ad campaign. I am sorry for the decades of relapse they have brought to our American society. Women~ you are brilliant, creative, and responsible assets to our society and to American business growth. To see you reduced to sexual play things is insulting to you and offensive to any truly American man with strong human value and love for the American dream which includes human equality and value, regardless of race, gender, religious views, or age.

The primitive small-minded adolescents who crafted and authorized this ad campaign are not trustworthy and have little regard to the consequences of their actions. Such disregard for American values should not be tolerated by American consumers.

Here is a man with the backbone to say it out loud, these videos are not fun, entertaining or attractive. They are a reproach the American culture.

The present economy certainly creates some unique challenges. From budget cuts to changing attitudes of customers. OUTSTANDING businesses must adapt to the changing times, trends and best practices.

In every economy there are four catalysts that leading businesses understand. They have never changed and never will. Some of the world’s most OUTSTANDING business leaders took advantage of these catalysts in tough times to launch their businesses. Some Icons that remain include Hyatt, Burger King and FedEx.

Burger King, with its flame-broiled burgers, is an OUTSTANDING recession startup. The company began in 1954 when James McLamore and David Edgerton opened a Burger King restaurant in Miami, Fla. During yet another recession in 1957, the company introduced its signature burger, the Whopper. Today Burger King is OUTSTANDING in 65 countries.

Hyatt opened its first hotel’s doors at Los Angeles International Airport during the Eisenhower recession. The chain rose to worldwide fame in the following decades and now operates more than 365 hotels in 25 countries.

FedEx began operations on April 17, 1973 as Federal Express. Founder Frederick W. Smith had hoped to get a contract with the Federal Reserve, when he didn’t he set and ambitious goal and challenged his team. The company delivered 186 packages to 25 cities on its first night of operations and now manages more than 7.5 million shipments everyday worldwide.

All three of these companies capitalize on the 4 momentum catalysts we will explore here.

Efficiency

The key to sustainable profitability is lean productive operations. One of the biggest roadblocks to sustainable business momentum is wasted effort. Systems support good habits and good habits make us consistently effective. When you have discovered activities that produce results it is critical that you implement systems and processes that accommodate those activities.

We recently discovered a niche group with a need for our keynote and event services. To our surprise these groups proved highly profitable. Unfortunately we had not made effort to reach these groups. We immediately began brainstorming ways to connect with them and began the process of building this group into our marketing campaigns. Reaching these groups required no greater effort, just differently focused effort.

I often hear people say, “marketing doesn’t work.” This usually means they aren’t using effective methods or are not focused in their efforts. I may be aggressively growing my network and contact list by thousands. But if my efforts are not targeted I may never see much ROI. In example, imagine I am in the business of low glycemic snacks. My list of thousands of contacts contains 40 percent between the ages of 18 and 28; these are clearly not my target audience. Effort is being made. The right efforts are being made. But when results aren’t produced we assume the system is broken.

Here are three efforts that will sharpen your efforts and improve your results.

Sharpen your skills.

Make sure you know how to use your software and resources. The better you know your tools and resources the more you can accomplish in less time. Familiarity with tools and resources reduces errors and makes you appear more polished when dealing with customers as well.

Prioritize and schedule your day’s activities by priority.

A good rule is to identify your “in stone” appointments first thing. These would include scheduled meetings, conference calls, client appointments or any event that is planned. Once you have identified those, determine which ones need preparation and how much time is needed to prepare; plan preparation into the day’s calendar. One last tip is to plan for known necessary duties. You know you will have email to tend to, so plan for it. A great plan for me has been as follows:

1. At the start of the day I check my inbox

• Make quick responses if possible (I follow a 30 second rule)
• Delete obvious spam and update my spam filters and rules to reduce it in the future. (avoid spending too much time on the spam control, but it is worth a little effort)
• Mark or flag important emails for immediate attention
• Move any mail you can to appropriate folders for organization and latter review

2. I watch my incoming mail notifications throughout the day. Be wary against non-productive interruptions.

3. I spend a few minutes on email at lunch time.

4. I do a mid-afternoon sweep of email to keep it under control

5. Before ending the day I clean up email with the following:

• Forward anything I can to another responsible party
• Deal with any 30 second responses
• Organize messages into appropriate folders where possible
• Determine if new rules and auto responses can handle some of my email and set those rules when practical.
• Consider forwarding qualified emails to a remote email for after hour response when possible.

 Prioritize, plan and polish your efforts every day to stay on the cutting edge.

 Innovation

FedEx is known for its commitment to efficiency and performance. Innovation is the key to staying on the cutting edge. By constantly analyzing our efforts and improving ensures we stay fresh and productive. Innovation is also a great way to stay relevant and trustworthy for our client base. I hold monthly meetings with my team and accountability partners to address 3 questions that keep us relevant and sharp.

 Are there new or better resources or tools that might help improve our customer relations, productivity or profit margin? These may be improved tools, lower cost tools or simply trends that position us as cutting edge when used.

 Are there processes that are unneeded or not returning a higher return than investment? Trimming the fat is critical in this economy. Trimming the fat may mean reducing the effort, eliminating the effort or refocusing the effort.

 What new information or ideas should be explored? I make note of new ideas, problems or observations made that might prove of interest to our business. Exploring these gives us the opportunity to innovate and lies to rest the bad ideas.

 Marketing

It is absolutely critical that we do the marketing regardless of the economy. It is equally important that we use the best and most practical techniques. I have noticed a revival of social networking across every business group. This is in part due to social media, but the reality is that when times are tough buyers are tougher. Customers want to know who they are doing business with. Networking gives us the opportunity to see, hear and touch. When done right networking allows you to connect with lots of people and be seen by even more. When I go to networking events I hand out full color mini brochures instead of business cards. They are information packed and interesting. I have observed others showing my little brochure to others in the group. I have had people approach me to ask for one.

The bottom line in marketing is impression. Make as many impressions as you can and the more impressive the impression he greater the results.

 Engagement

Perhaps the greatest weakness shared by the majority of business professionals is follow-up. We connect with people and then fail to follow-up with them. I know from experience, dropped balls and failure to follow-up is the single greatest deficit in any marketing strategy.

 Here are three ways to follow up and profitize your relationships.

 Add value

Once you have made a connection or have someone’s contact information immediately start making them glad they know you. Share your secrets, tips and tricks that will prove valuable to them. One of the greatest ways to create value for another business is to give referrals and leads. However, to do this you need to know and trust the provider you are referring.

 Inform

Make sure every contact knows everything they need to know to do business with you. What services do you offer? How are they provided? What payment options exist? Who else do you do business with? Why should any of this matter to your new contact? How can they contact you?

 Understand

This is a powerful follow-up technique. Send an email asking questions about the new contact’s business. Let them tell you about themselves. Read reviews and find out who they do business with. Ask yourself, why should all of this matter to me?

If you immediately start sharpening your momentum catalyst you will quickly start standing out.

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