August 2006 Edition

Technology Plan
Where Can I Get More Sales?
Time Management 101
Women Owning More Businesses
Tech Corner
Some Smiles
 

Technology plan

I am a partner in a technology company and we see so many things that have now turned my hair gray.

One example is a company doing work all over the world and they have two domains registered, one is the old original and the second is the more updated one.  Once we were hired by this company we discovered they did not have administrative control over their domains.  We needed to change their web site hosting from one company to another due to very poor service, but have been unable to because the Domain administrative e-mail is not to anyone who works at this company.  We are working through the process very slowly, but some progress is being made.   The point is this, every company needs to have the Domain Administrative E-mail be current, accurate, and belong to the owner of the company, not the web developer or former employee.

Another company has a mish-mash of a computer network they have been sold over the past few years that works some of the time.  Everyone knows something about computers it seems, even little Johnny who just took a computer class in high school so he becomes the expert.  This company has several thousand dollars invested in computers that are working at about 20% capacity because the network is set up completely incorrect.

We see these two scenarios virtually every week in our business.  It is very disappointing because these are technically good companies with good products in good markets with substantial profit potential.

The issue is their inability to make sound technical decisions based upon inaccurate technical information.  They have had people sell them “a bill of goods” for the purpose of selling, not for the purpose of supporting the technical needs of the company.  A solid Technology Plan would have allowed them to avoid most every headache and save them hundreds of dollars in real cost, and thousands of dollars in lost productivity.

You can invest $250—$500 in a technology plan that can save you thousands.  Seem like a good idea?

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Where can I get more sales?

I suspect every business owner asks this same question of themselves and perhaps their employees almost every day.  Where can we find that next elusive customer?  What advertising should I use, or what group should I join to network with the right prospective customers?  Can you relate?

Another thing we hear frequently is word of mouth.  This is the most common answer when we ask, “Where do most of your customers come from”?  Think about this for a minute…  Most of your customers come from word of mouth, yet you spend most all your promotional budget on trying to get new customers from the general public.  Please allow me to plant a seed here that we will water, fertilize and nurture over the next few months in future articles – how about spending at least 50% of your budget in supporting your existing customers?  In most companies we find 80% of their annual revenue comes from their current customer base, but most of the promotional budget does not.

Give some serious thought about what you can do to help your customers more.  How can you help them be more successful in their life or their business, depending upon what you are selling.

The first thing you need is a list of your customers.  Asking a business owner for a list of their customers seems like such a simple, logical question.  Unfortunately, in the retail business this is usually easier said than done.  If all you have is credit card and cash register receipts then you may not have a list of your customers.  Your customers are worth 80% of your annual business so you need to develop that list.  This is a great time of year for retail because of the high traffic so leverage the opportunity.  There are some very simple and inexpensive means to obtain your customer contact information (this will be needed as we work through the process next year).

v      Have them sign up for a newsletter by filling out a simple form with their first name, last name, address, city, state, zip code, phone number and email address.

v      You can have them enter a drawing that once a month you provide a dinner for two at a local, nice restaurant.  You can usually make a deal with the restaurant for sending them business.

v      Develop a simple customer referral coupon that your customers can hand out to prospective customers which offers the new person a modest discount on their first purchase or visit.

v      You can also have a similar customer referral coupon that your customers can hand out to prospective customers which offers the customer a modest discount on their first purchase or visit.

v      You can have a firm like BRS develop a simple customer survey that you hand out in your establishment and any who fill it out are entered into a drawing.  Of course you would want the contact information described earlier in this as well.

The point is this:  you need the contact information if you want to market to your customers and since customers are the least expensive group to market to, and they usually represent 80% of your annual business, why would you not want to market to them?  It all starts with getting their contact information…

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time management 101

I am constantly amazed at how common a problem there is for small businesses to manage their time.  A phrase I hear all too often is “I don’t have the time”.  I too am busy, but I’ve always heard, “if you want something done ask a busy person to do it”.  How can a busy person have the time to do that little extra, when so many people cannot cover the basics?

My observation is very simple - most people don’t know how to manage their time.  In my business, and as I work with various organizations, as you might imagine I attend many meetings.  During these meetings there is something consistent in the behavior of at least seven of 10 people, they don’t take notes.  They write nothing down as a reminder and nothing goes onto a calendar.

The biggest threat you have to your time is your perception that you will remember things…

I’ve read many times the average person makes something over 10,000 decisions every day, but so many people believe that in the midst of all that chaos they will be able to remember the details of a meeting that happened earlier in the day or yesterday, or last week or last month.  The sheer magnitude of things that go through a person’s mind in a day reduces the odds of remembering details and just think of three days as you deal with over 30,000 things.  Each of these 30,000 caused something to be thought about, considered and a decision made, and you want to remember what was said by one of six people at a meeting?  Does that seem realistic to you that you could possibly remember?

There is another human issue at work here as well, in addition to having one’s memory banks in constant overload and that is how we learn.  According to most of the research I’ve read, and most of the people in the know I’ve spoken with, a person remembers much better if they write something down.  Not necessarily will they have to refer to their notes to remember, but the actual act of thinking about the item long enough to write it commits it to memory.  Therefore, we have two strikes against us before we even attempt to remember things.

Of course another major issue is stress.  When we are under stress we tend to have a jumbled thought process that is not sequential or organized and voila, the memory banks get confused and information gets lost.

The good news is there is a very simple solution, but like most things, the downfall is it takes some personal discipline.

You can alleviate most all your stress for remembering by doing two processes and both are easy and inexpensive.  First, start using a To Do List.  This can be as simple as carrying a note pad around with you, or you can use the Outlook Task System like I do, or you can use the back of envelopes.  What you use is not near as important as using it consistently.  Always have it with you and use it.  Get in the habit of writing everything down that needs done, regardless of whether it is a business or personal task, write it down.  The second component of this is to date the things you write down.  For example, write down the day’s date and under it write all the things you learn that day that need to be done.  Equally important to writing things down is to cross them off when they are completed so you can quickly see the progress you make.  It is so very important to make progress every day and this is especially true when we are so busy.  It is easy to become overloaded if we don’t measure our progress.

The second part of Time Management 101 is to carry a calendar with you at all times.  I carry a weekly calendar that shows the hours of each day so I can plan my time by the hour, and I also carry the entire month so I can quickly see the big picture.  When you are in a meeting or discussion with someone who needs something done schedule it right then.  Do not procrastinate and put off the scheduling, just get it done immediately.

Along with immediate scheduling, you should look over your To Do List each morning, review the dates the project was written down and prioritize your work for the day.  With your calendar in your other hand you can add the task that needs done to the hours available and there, your day is scheduled, and you can quickly see what else is still pending.

Remember; mark off the work you get completed so you can see your progress. 

Progress is the most powerful life motivator we have so use it every day.

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WOMEN OWNING MORE BUSINESSES

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Women-owned firms increased nearly 20 percent over the latest period studied, according to a report released today by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. During the five years between 1997 and 2002, women-owned firms grew by 19.8 percent while all U.S. firms grew by seven percent.

A wealth of data on women in the work force and women-owned business is presented in Women in Business: A Demographic Review of Women’s Business Ownership, (http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs280tot.pdf) written by Office of Advocacy senior economist Dr. Ying Lowrey.

For more information and a complete copy of the report, visit the Office of Advocacy website at www.sba.gov/advo.

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TECH CORNER

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some smiles

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