A great way to impress new customers (and keep your business covered).

A good way to make a great first impression is the new customer packet. This should be printed on business grade paper (not copied-go visit you local quick printer-and get at least 3 quotes), and sent in a good looking envelope. What should be in your new customer packet? Here are some ideas.

1) A credit application. The credit application allows your business to legally pull a commercial credit bureau and should outline your company’s terms and conditions. It should ask for 3 trade credit line lenders, and a commercial bank check (on a separate form) both of which should be signed by an officer of the customers company. This document obligates the customer to pay invoices in the terms that you permit.
2) A sales tax exemption form or reseller certificate from the appropriate state. This is an absolute must for any company in any business but retail or retail food service. If your company is doing business to business commerce you must obtain this document!
3) A request for a freight guide. This is especially crucial for your small to medium business if you are conducting business with a Fortune 1000 type company. Other wise, your company’s invoices maybe delayed by the freight auditing department or your company fined for not following the customer’s guidelines (or probably both)! This also creates more expense as your company’s accounts receivable department (or yourself if you are just starting out) must now pursue the deduction for pay back which will most often be denied.
4) A welcome to your company. This is a sales and marketing document. It thanks your new customer for their order, and lists appropriate contact people. Who should be included: the main sales contact, customer service lead, credit representative or manager, and yourself-the owner. This document should include all appropriate business cards (included in packet)!

Follow these steps, and your company can reinforce your excellent first impression and ask for new orders. This lets your customer know that they are dealing with a classy organization no matter the size. All customers appreciate class, and this is a way to let them know that your company values their business. Remember to request that the packet be sent back complete if at all possible.

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Smart Business Guys-What Goes Around

I have used the same auto-mechanics since 1986 when my wife and I arrived in Cincinnati. The two men, I‘ll call Dan & Dave are famous for giving courteous, excellent, and honest service. Furthermore, they don’t “go looking” for problems, but point out any need for maintenance, but you as the customer always feel in control. I was bragging about them to a friend who was telling me about his excellent auto mechanics, and we found out we were talking about the same place!

These guys know more than just about cars. They know a good deal about business. I found this out when my son total my Toyota Echo, and I started looking for a car with the settlement money. Wow, what a nightmare dealing with used car lots, and I am not talking about the large auto-mall type dealer, I am talking a couple of tiers down. I finally blurted out to Dan and Dave do you guys have anything? They said, "actually we do." We take cars from time to time and fix them up to sell, but we’re not really looking to make much money off them. What we are really doing is keeping the guys in our shop working during some slow times. That way they keep their hours (and pay) up, and we don’t have them out looking for a new employer. It costs a lot to recruit, test out, and retain a good employee. If that guy walks for a better deal, it hurts our shop. Plus it keeps good customers coming back to us when they know we’ve serviced a certain car for years.

This is pure HR-PR genius! By treating everyone right: their customer, their employees, and themselves, Dan & Dave have created a win-win-win scenario! They balanced HR with PR. There’s an old saying, "what goes around comes around." I truly believe in business this is a basic fundamental truth. Dan & Dave have been doing it right for a long time, and it is no coincidence that their lot is always full of cars and their office full of satisfied customers.

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The business Outlook: It’s Starting to Look Better

Sorry to spoil President Obama’s parade but the most important issue for average Americans is not healthcare. It is very important but it not number one. Number one is the American economy and more importantly job stability. Can you find or keep a job? Some of the economic news is depressing. American’s still aren’t spending much money on durable goods, and soaring credit card debt is the proverbial other shoe to drop on the economy.

It’s not all gloom and doom however. An important but little known index is rising and that it is good news-the index is the Baltic Dry Index. What this index does is measure how much it would cost to ship basic raw materials and the Baltic just hit a two month high according to transportationweekly.com. This is especially good news since it measures what might be in pipeline for the future to affect other indexes like the PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) which measures new orders, inventory, supplier deliveries, and production levels amongst other things.

So is it time to go out and invest in growth stocks or buy a new sports car? I wouldn’t go that far, but it might be all right to go ahead and send your kids to camp. Before orders can be produced, and people brought on to work those orders, someone in purchasing has to buy the raw materials to start the process, and nothing is final until the product ships. Well, good news, basic raw materials are shipping and its time to look at some of the other reports with a little more optimism!

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So You Think You Need a Business Angel? Not So Fast

Many companies who are just starting out need start up capital (some people called it seed money). Unless you have rich (and patient) relatives this can be a very difficult commodity to acquire. So too, going to a bank and getting a small business loan is a pretty daunting task and some business (restaurants and construction companies) are not very appealing to bankers in general; restaurants because the failure rate is so very high, and the construction business because of all the intricate workings of the business. What many beginning owners tend to look for is either a Venture Capital company or a Business Angel. Before you start your search (it might even be rightly termed a quest) here are some things to consider.


Venture Capital companies tend to look for “hot” industries or industries that have very high payback potential. In the past few years industries like Bio-Med, Medical Robotics, and the like have been very popular. Most Venture Capital companies avoid investing in stage one or the seed money stage. From their long experience, they’ve seen can’t miss products, miss. In fact in some cases they have watched the product fail miserably, and they lost their investment. Another thing very important to venture capital companies is their exit strategy. A VC companies business is much like a bank, loaning money (and over sight) for a project, but while they are willing to give a promising business a leg up financially, they are not wanting to own that business long term-usually they like to be involved for 3-5 years and then be bought out by the owner. This is called the exit strategy, and every Venture Capital company has one and a general time table target for payback.

A business angel can vary; many business angels these days have an association (and a front man) to screen potential businesses. Like a Venture Capital company, they provide funding and over site, but might be willing to be a long term partner of your business, or be willing to buy the business from you at a certain stage. As the entrepreneur, you must fully research the particular business angel and decide if this is a long term partnership that you are going to be compatible and consistent with you long term goals. Make sure you have a trusted lawyer read the contract!

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Must-Reads for Marketers

There are so many business-oriented books out there; how do you know which one is what you're looking for? How about turning to someone who has read not all, but a good many of them. When author and president of McKee Wallwork Cleveland Advertising, Steve McKee, was starting out as a field marketing manager for Pizza Hut, he found himself unable to earn an MBA. Instead, he developed a love for business books and began reading everything he could get his hands on to help him with his career. Today, he is often asked which book is his favorite. Unable to pick just one, McKee put together a list of branding, marketing, and advertising books that have made an impact on his life. See the list below:

1. Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy by Thomas Sowell - According to McKee, "Sowell presents practical concepts about how incentives, trade-offs, and other dimensions of the economy really work" and the book is more interesting and more relevant than any economics course you could take in college.


2. The Marketing Imagination by Theodore Levitt - McKee says this book made the concept of marketing "come alive" for him. Written by a late Harvard Business professor, the book is somewhat dated, but still a great read.


3. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors by Michael E. Porter - According to McKee, this book takes a long time to digest and he finds himself referring back to it as he works with his own clients. This is a popular book that is really helpful in any industry.


4. Positioning: The Battle for your Mind by Jack Trout and Al Ries - This book is all about branding and making a complex subject easy to understand.


5. Profit from the Core: Growth Strategy in an Era of Turbulence by Chris Zook and James Allen - This book is the result of a 10-year, 2,000-company study. McKee says it won't make any top marketing book lists, but it does a great job of explaining why all companies seek sustained, profitable growth but only a fraction of them actually achieve it.


6. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Jack Trout and Al Ries - The second book on the list by Trout and Ries.


7. Hitting the Sweet Spot: How Consumer Insights Can Inspire Better Marketing and Advertising by Lisa Fortini-Campbell - McKee says this is the best resource he's found for account-planning. He says, "Following the disciplines in this book can lead to truly groundbreaking marketing and advertising efforts."


8. A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Webb Young - This isn't exactly a book, so much it as it is a booklet. Originally developed for University of Chicago students in the 1930's, McKee says the the information in this book is helpful and quaint, and explains how process of creativity works.


9. Feeding the Media Beast by Mark Mathis - This book explains "how the news business works, the pressures journalists face, and the predicaments in which they often find themselves." McKee says this book helped him overcome his fears of talking to reporters or appearing on television.


10. The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White - McKee says much of the business world's problem is understanding that the written word is still important. No matter how great your idea is, crafting it and presenting it poorly can hurt your cause.

According to McKee, reading just these ten books will put you ahead of most of the business world. You can read more about what he says about the books here: Essential Reading for Marketers

Blackberry small buisness software

"Over 21 million people use BlackBerry® smartphones on over 375 wireless networks in 140 countries around the world.", according to Blackberry. What was once considered a business professional's phone because of its complexity and intricate software is now a simple to use device that is gaining more popularity. Including Blackberry® and its easy to use software into your small business not only instantly brings you and your employees up to speed but keeps you up to speed with the rest of the world. BlackBerry® Professional Software is designed for use with up to 30 employees. It offers features to keep everyone linked such as: email, contact sharing, internet, and calendar information.

Easy Set-up
The instillation and set up is virtually pain free with Blackberry® Professional Software. The software is compatible with Microsoft® Exchange or IBM® Lotus® Domino® email servers. A pre-install assistant is run prior to set-up to inform you of any potential issues before you install. You simply run the set-up wizard and you're done. It also automatically defaults to the recommended configuration, which simply adds to the ease of set-up.

Features/Management
The software also features more controls over the devices of your employees so you, as the business owner, can have a better handle on how the device is used. You can block the browser, if you choose or simply just block sites you don't want your employees to access. You can also pre-program data back-up schedules. There's also an option to block long distance calling or calls to certain numbers. It provides easy to use IT policy templates along with technical support options.

Security Features
Security features include:
* End-to-end Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) or Triple Data Encryption Standard (Triple DES) encryption
* Industry-recognized security certifications
* Local encryption of all data

Pricing
Blackberry® offers two "bundles" for purchasing options.
-BlackBerry® Professional Software – 5 users --- $499
-BlackBerry® Professional Software – 10 users --- $849

You can purchase any number of bundles up to 30 users. If you need to add more than 30 users in the future, updating to BlackBerry® Enterprise Server is made simple and pain free, you simply need to purchase a Trade-Up key through your wireless service provider or online.

BlackBerry® is the #1 smartphone in the country right now, and for good reason. Many small business owners are looking to streamline their businesses, and provide a cost and time efficient way to do that, BlackBerry® Professional Software is the way to go. The technology provides be best options for connecting your employees not only with one another but with the rest of the world.

BlackBerry.Com

Tips For Hiring A Great Employee.

For a business owner, be it small or medium, when you hire that first employee, it's a day of celebration. It means you are in a position to expand and make your business a stronger place. But before you choose the new employee, there are a few things you should consider.



1.Before bringing in candidates to interview, make a list of 10 buzz words that are important to your small business. They can range from "fast-paced" to "money-making" and then be on alert for resumes that use identical or similar words.

2.Hiring is not a perfect process. It is highly subjective and based on a good deal of soft information. So, whenever possible, have at least one other person carefully interview the final candidates for a position. You may to be surprised with a fresh perspective.

3.Don't be in a rush to hire an employee. In today's world things can change quickly. Make sure you are hiring at the right time for your business. Many companies hire too soon and pay for it as time goes on. Keep in mind when you hire someone, you are taking on their income and future. That is a big responsibility.

4. List your goals for the new hire. Do you want someone who can fill in on short notice when you need to take a day off, or do you want someone who can work a regular schedule? Do you want someone who can meet with clients, set their own schedules and attend meetings and events on your behalf, or do you simply need someone who can pick up your overflow? These are things you need to make clear in the interview.

Listen to your gut; your intuition is the most powerful hiring tool there is. If some thing doesn't feel right, then it may not be. This is your business you're talking about so go with what you feel. At the end of the day you want to bring the right people into your family and you want this new member to help you in continuing to expand.