Entrepreneurs Seek Advice

Is Social Marketing Too Sexy For It's Body?

2011-12-30T11:42:00.000-05:00

First, Social refers to anywhere online that internet users can go to socialize, engage and interact with friends, family, people like themselves with similar interests and even on occassion, with businesses. For example; Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,YouTube and of course my Blog "Entrepreneurs Seek Advice". Sorry, I had to add that last one. :) There are many more but you should get the point. For Internet Marketers, talking about the opportunities of the online Social world might be the equivalent of saying painting your heavy duty truck in bright sexy red will save you money in gas consumption. Hmmm really?

Don't get me wrong! Businesses need to socialize with their customers to stay in their Top of Mind and leverage the power of Digital word of mouth referrals and repeat business. But, this requires creativity and a full time effort by businesses and the results may not be seen quickly. What is a business to do? Contract out! It really is that simple.

Get an expert consultant to hold your hand and guide you through the many choices and direct you to how, where and when to build a good, integrated Social Marketing strategy. WSI Digital Marketing is a franchisor who is global and working with thousands of clients in all industries through their hundreds of franchise offices. WSI leverages their private and global knowledge share network bringing this to local businesses the world over. They even work with National and Multi-National clients. In the world of online Social Marketing, Knowledge and Experience is truly power. Be careful that in 2012 you don't just add another expense to your business, make sure you partner with Knowledge and Experience. This will ensure you make a proper investment in the growth of your business.

By the way, don't get me started on Mobile Marketing! :)

If you are looking for WSI Franchise information contact me at: rmacneil@wsiworld.com

$8,000 usd Cash Referral Fee

2011-10-18T14:06:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, I work for the world’s largest Internet Marketing company, WSI. I personally speak to people around the world helping them learn if a WSI Internet Marketing Franchise or Master Franchise is a good choice for them and WSI. In my efforts to find more franchisees, I am offering $8,000 usd to anyone who sends me an interested person or business that completes our Discovery Process and becomes approved for a WSI franchise business. If we are not already working with this person and they invest in WSI through me, I will send you $8,000. usd. Before you ask, the investment for WSI starts at $49,700 usd in Canada and the USA and 39,700 euro in Europe, 36,800 GBP in the UK and $49,700 usd in the MENA countries. Contact me by email for more information or to send me contact details if you know of an interested candidate: rmacneil@wsiworld.com

WSI: 27-28 September 2011, Abu Dhabi | 1-2 October 2011, Dubai

2011-09-14T12:02:00.000-04:00

I will be in the UAE for our Master Franchise Office to speak on WSI Internet Marketing Business Consulting franchise opportunities in the UAE and MENA Countries. Register for one of our seminars if you are there the week of September 25th and interested: http://lnkd.in/HgbP97

QR Codes Are Here

2011-04-01T15:46:00.000-04:00

I wrote about QR Codes back in June of 2007 when only a few insiders knew what I was talking about. Today many more people know what I'm talking about and, it really is beginning to become an integral part of a personal suite of 3G or Smart phone mobile technology applications. A must have in other words is a QR (Quick Response) Code Reader/Scanner App on your phone. If you are a business owner, a QR Code is very easy and quick to create and should be at a minimum added to all your company branded marketing and advertising collateral. All you need do for example is search on Google "QR Code Generator" and you will see the most popular free QR Code Generators at the top of Google. For your convenience, I have included a link to the QR Code Generator I used for my blog. Click Here for QR.net's Generator.

Here is great article from the 'Business Insider' to read and begin your learning and understanding of how QR Codes can be used in business. Click here for this great article.

The Rise of Generation C

2011-03-18T15:33:00.000-04:00

The Rise of Generation C by Roman Friedrich, Michael Peterson and Alex Koster is a great introduction to a new group of consumers that are connected to the world digitally. As business owners, we know that our customer has already gone or is going digital. So, the future, "2020", is going to be extraordinary. You will find below an excerpt from the article "The Rise of Generation C" but, I encourage you to read this article in its entirety by clicking on the author link above. WSI Digital Marketing and their WSI Franchise opportunity is clearly in the right place at the right time.

"...a new generation that will be coming into its own over the next decade. Its members are typically realists and materialists. They are culturally liberal, though not necessarily politically progressive. They are upwardly mobile, yet they live with their parents longer than earlier generations ever did. Many of their social interactions take place on the Internet, where they feel free to express their opinions and attitudes. They’ve grown up under the influence of Harry Potter, Barack Obama, and iEverything — iPods, iTunes, iPhones. Technology is so intimately woven into their lives that the baby boom–era concept of “early adopters” is essentially meaningless.

We call them Generation C — connected, communicating, content-centric, computerized, community-oriented, always clicking. As a rule, they were born after 1990 and lived their adolescent years after 2000. In the developed world, Generation C encompasses everyone in this age group; in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), they are primarily urban and suburban. By 2020, they will make up 40 percent of the population in the U.S., Europe, and the BRIC countries, and 10 percent of the rest of the world — and by then, they will constitute the largest single cohort of consumers worldwide.

This is the first generation that has never known any reality other than that defined and enabled by the Internet, mobile devices, and social networking. They have owned various handheld devices all their lives, so they are intimately familiar with them and use them for as much as six hours a day. They all have mobile phones, yet they prefer sending text messages to talking with people. More than 95 percent of them have computers, and more than half use instant messaging to communicate, have Facebook pages, and watch videos on YouTube. Their familiarity with technology; reliance on mobile communications; and desire to remain in contact with large networks of family members, friends, business contacts, and people with common interests will transform how we work and how we consume."

The Dirty Little Secrets of Search Optimization

2011-02-12T21:13:00.001-05:00

Bravo to The New York Times for exposing to Google the dirty little secrets of J.C. Penney and their #1 spot in Google for many different search terms. They were exposed for "Black Hat" tactics. When BMW was caught for "Black Hat" tactics they were penalized to the bottom of the Google search engine. J.C. Penney however has only been recently manually moved down the page rankings one search criteria at a time. Considering J.C. Penney has now been caught 3 times for these unethical tactics why is it their punishment pales in comparison to the treatment experienced by BMW from Google. Read the New York Times article and form your own opinions. Many lessons to be learned here: Cheaters will be caught. Google has to watch the perception real or not of favoring the big spenders of ad space on their search engine and; businesses need to ensure they are using a reputable Digital Marketing firm. From small business to as large a business as J.C. Penney who spends millions on Digital Marketing, the best in the business isn't always based on price. There is no substitute for experience and ongoing learning from a Global perspective. This is where WSI Digital Marketing beats everyone else hands down. WSI is a franchise model and have hundreds of offices globally. For WSI Digital Marketing Franchise Information click here.

The Franchise Show Excel London

2011-02-11T21:25:00.000-05:00

I'm off to The Franchise Show in London, UK which runs from Friday, February 18th through Saturday the 19th. This is an exciting show with many exhibitors, seminars and workshops. This is a great opportunity to learn about the many franchise choices and listen to industry keynote speakers introducing Master Franchise opportunities. I will be there with WSI conducting seminars at the Crown Plaza Hotel. With what happened recently in Egypt, the Digital Marketing and Internet Industry is exploding with opportunities and high growth. The WSI booth will I'm sure be busy and the limited seats at the seminars are filling fast. I will keep you posted on WSI's success in London.

Doritos Has Great Cross Marketing Strategy

2011-02-09T19:44:00.001-05:00

You may have recently seen the Doritos commercial where two new flavour chips are created and we, the consumer, gets to write the ending of the commercial. An ending that will eliminate one flavour in favour of the other. You write the ending online and then amass votes as I am doing in my blog, my twitter and my facebook. The combination of a TV ad with an online site going viral through the social network is a great cross marketing strategy. Check out my ending on vote for my ending: Click Here to vote.

Egypt Has Harnessed The Power Of Social Networking

2011-01-31T16:41:00.001-05:00

If anyone hasn't grasped the power of the Internet and how it works they need only look to Egypt to see the impact of Digital word of mouth referrals, customer testimonials and viral marketing. The eruption of unrest in Egypt that quickly took hold of this country that brought fear to the government was organized by people talking to each other via the social network:

"Security firm Zscaler noted Sunday that the top sites visited by Egyptian Web users on January 27 – the day Internet access went dark – were Facebook, Al Jazeera, and Google. In fact, social media and news sites accounted for about 65 percent of Web browsing that day. Zscaler also saw a 68 percent increase in transactions on Egyptian Web servers on January 26, and the spike was also most notable on news and media sites." - PCMAG.com

My sincere best wishes go out to all Egyptians for their safety and quick National stability. For all businesses globally who are not harnessing the power of Digital Marketing with an expert in this industry, you will lose out to your competition who will. The evidence of its power is too over whelming now in light of the recent events in Egypt. This is the equivalent of hitting you over the head with a ton of bricks to help you see what is clearly impossible to deny. The world of advertising has gone digital.

Canadian Tire and "Our Policy Is..."

2011-01-12T16:31:00.000-05:00

I have been involved with an on going sequence of escalating frustration of events with a Canadian institution in the automotive retail industry, Canadian Tire. I purchased months ago 4 new all season tires with full replacement warranty and dynamic balancing which cost me close to $1,000. At first I notice that two of the tires kept losing air faster than normal. Being proactive I brought the car back to Canadian Tire. They checked the tires and said nothing was wrong and charged me for the labour and balancing. I found this doubtful but off I went after reluctantly paying this small bill. Then a couple of months later, while I was out of the country, my wife who was just minutes from entering a busy highway on-ramp found herself driving on the rim. The tire was flat and was now being damaged by the rim. She called a road side assistance company who charged her $70. to change the tire. She went to Canadian Tire and they very quickly replaced the tire and paid the bill for the road side assistance but charged us for the labour, balancing and a new replacement warranty. They claimed that the seal on the rim was the problem and promised that they used more sealant this time. 1 month later, the other tire moments before entering the same on-ramp is flat and coming off the rim. We called Canadian Tire this time from the road to come help us and they said they can't it is not "Our Policy to do service for you at the road, bring the tire to us and we can check it.." "I understand was my response but you need to understand the history before you say no and she interruptted me again with "Our Policy is..." I was short with her and disconnected our call. We then called the same company as before and went to Canadian Tire with the flat tire and a new $70. bill for road side service. Now this time we got attitude from the young girl at the desk who said "Our Policy" numerous times as a method to interrupt my explanation of the series of events. I suspect she is the same girl we spoke to on the phone days earlier. The end result, they did not replace the tire, they resealed it and charged me for labour and balancing again. We paid and left to experience a flat again two days later driving home from the office. We pulled into a nearby Active Green and Ross tire center and incurred a $34. bill but well worth it, these guys stayed late after their posted hours to help us out and provided a free 6 month warranty that this tire will not leak air. Wow! I write this post not to complain because we have done this already to Canadian Tire weeks ago in writing and they didn't even have the customer service responsiveness of a top notch company like Active Green & Ross to even reply to our letter. Their lack of response says it all.

I have written about the importance of great customer service before in my blog. It is not only a great differentiation from your competition, customers are prepared to pay more for high level service and they will become repeat customers and refer your business to their family and friends.

With the explosion of the Internet Socialization with the advent of such online venues as YouTube and Facebook and my blog, businesses need to understand that the consumer is now in control of your image and your brand. They can create an online viral marketing campaign that can kill your brand over night. As business owners, we need to ensure we are using a professional that can manage our online brand. The world has changed and there are new rules to marketing today because of the Internet. The days of the amateur is over. Like my business with Canadian Tire is now over. I hope the small money Canadian Tire makes on the labour they charge customers will help them grow their business against the loss of thousands of dollars I would spend in a lifetime multiplied by how many people read my blog post and Facebook rants.

How Unique Is Your Business idea?

2011-01-04T15:11:00.001-05:00

I was recently in Germany and met with a new franchisor of a fast food concept. I actually met with many new fast food franchisors. They all had what they believed to be something unique and special to differentiate them from the hundreds of other fast food franchise opportunities. Sure, the food was good, for fast food. The marketing was slick. The store layout and look had some thought behind the finished product. But, so what! I've see it all before. Call me crazy but shouldn't a unique idea have little to no competition. Shouldn't a unique idea have the potential for high growth. And, wouldn't it be nice to enjoy, at a minimum, nice profit margins with a quick return on my investment. The idea of working 6 to 7 days a week and long hours just so I can keep more money in my pocket does not excite me. Call me lazy but, I like the idea of working towards fewer hours in the business with the business continuing its growth and still enjoying time for a much improved lifestyle. If you ask does this exist? Sure it does. It is called Digital Marketing and WSI is the leader in this industry with a franchise opportunity in most cities and most countries around the globe.

What is a franchise? It is a proven system with training and support that allows someone from a different background and coming from a different industry to enter into a new business and industry with little to no experience in their desired industry of choice. If you have been watching from the sidelines others take the step into business ownership and you have watch others succeed in the Internet and presumed you missed this opportunity because of a generation gap... then think again. WSI is looking for business executives for their Digital Marketing Franchise. Perhaps, at a minimum, I have left you with some fast food for thought. If you find you have some interest to learn more then contact me by email at: rmacneil@wsidigitalmarketing.com

Fresh Content Is A Challenge

2010-11-11T21:31:00.000-05:00

I have not been active in my blog for a very long time and as a result my page ranking has dropped in Google. If you are running a business it is difficult to keep your blog active daily with fresh content that is relevant and topical. But you must if you want to enjoy success on the search engines. On the internet; text is the 'bomb'. Stale text is the 'bum'. My best advice is to have a dedicated blogger for your organization. This person can solicit content from your relevant departments or look to outside help. For example; WSI Digital Marketing can bring this service to your company. Blogs rule if done right.

When Is Family Important In Business ownership?

2010-09-05T19:54:00.000-04:00

When is family important in business ownership? All the time. Most entrepreneurs pursue their passion. As most people who pursue their passion, we can get so involved (24/7) that we forget those around us that most matter. Ask yourself if your passion is to achieve desires, goals and dreams that are important to you or you and your family. There is a difference. If the time you give is required to achieve your mutually agreeable goals then you are supported and have a stronger probability to succeed. If your goals are yours and not theirs then you may be not only working alone, you may end up alone or with a new family.

Sit down in the early stages of your business and discuss the requirements to succeed, such as the extra time in the beginning to build a new business and ensure that you all agree that this is understood and supported to achieve your mutual goals.

If you do this, you can thank me later. :)

Beware of Craigs List Secret Shopper Cheque Scam

2010-07-09T15:40:00.004-04:00

My daughter almost got taken in a fake cheque moving scam advertised through Craigs list as a job posting for secret shopper of various online and offline stores. Fortunately, we (parents) found out what she did before it was too late. How does it work?

We arrived home from work and at our door was a couriered envelope addressed to my daughter and addressed from a residence in Ithaca, NY, Min Park. In the envelope was a cashiers cheque drawn on the Bank of Nova Scotia for $3,900. payable in cash to the bearer (my daughter). Who made out the cheque? The Ottawa-Carleton Education Network. The bank is legit and from what we can tell, so is the Ottawa-Carleton Education Network which is a non-profit organization.

We immediately questioned this as my daughter had no idea why she would receive this cheque. She, needless to say, was very excited to go cash the cheque but she also knew this was not only mysterious it was wrong until we confirmed the legitimacy of this cheque. Cooler heads prevailed and we began to google every piece of information we had and yet we found nothing to suggest it may be nothing more than some strange clerical error. We decided to call Ottawa-Carleton the next day once we confirmed they were not open in the evening. We did call the next day but not before we found out what was going on.

My daughter received an email on her mobile phone shortly after we finished our exhaustive online research that ended with no real answers one way or the other. The email was from the company that supposedly hired her to be a secret shopper. News to her. The email instructed her by stating we confirmed you signed receipt of the envelope. Not true. It was sitting on our door step when we arrived home. The email went on to instruct her to deposit the cheque in her bank account. Then she was to keep her total fees and expenses of $520. yet further instructed her to send them a cheque to the Philippines of $3,400. WE NOW KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON...SHE WAS BEING SCAMMED!

The scam; the bank clears the cheque and gives her the cash within days. The bank actually finds out the cheque is fake later and comes back to her to repay and reserves the right to charge her with fraud. Wait! It gets worse. We called the police and we were told that this is a very common scam and because we did not cash the cheque we are not victimized and even if we did cash the cheque, all they could do is file a report. Reason? Because of the difficulty of tracking the paper trail to the con artists behind this who are international and in many cases in countries with no police and inter-governmental co-operation. "It is just not worth the effort for anything under $10,000.", stated the police officer. This is the genius of the scam. The con artists know this crime will never be pursued. The police told me that all we can do is what we are doing and that is to educate the public. First, we were told, is report it to Craigs list. Before we could, the job posting my daughter responded to had already been removed. As I'm sure it is always done for everyone of these scam ads. The police also advise us to contact phonebusters.com. We will and we also contacted Ottawa-Carleton who said 'Oh no, not you too'. They have been receiving calls on this for the last few days. We were the only one, as of yet, who did not cash the cheque and they asked us if we could send it to them for their own investigation. We will send them the cheque as it holds no value to anyone other than them.

I'm glad I have this blog to post our story and hope you pass it along to as many people as possible. Through the power of our online social network we can educate many people to watch for this scam that preys on honest people who only want 'extra income' or employment.

What Happened To Sincerity?

2010-06-23T21:40:00.000-04:00

The following is from an email I received from Ari Galper, 'Unlock The Game'. A sales coach who I have followed and studied from for years. This is worth the read if you are making sales cold calls and using a script:

Click Here

Google TV, Brilliant!

2010-06-20T19:39:00.000-04:00

More and more of us, consumers and customers alike are spending more and more time on the Internet. We have become multi-taskers. We have the attention span of a spoiled child. Our time is precious and we want answers to our questions now, not later. The Internet has changed the way we live our lives and as a result; has caused business to move their advertising budgets online. We have all seen how hard hit the publishing industry has been over the last couple of years. In addition, in the UK last year, more time was spent on the Internet than was spent on TV. The reality is, publishing and TV has changed, we are all publishers through the explosion of blogs and other social media portals. Everyday people can and are becoming a more believable champion of our products and services than the overpaid actors touting our claims on TV, Radio and in Print. We have already seen print and radio move to the Internet and as well TV. Well, leave it to Google to recognize this opportunity to be the search engine for all your social media searching. Check out this short Google TV video. We are here, we have come, now business where are you?

Will Twitter Survive?

2010-05-12T21:54:00.001-04:00

This post is an observation. We all know that Social Media and Digital Marketing is changing the face of traditional marketing and advertising mediums. If you are in business you need to go where your customers are and that is on the internet. You need to go where they are on the internet and you need to get your message in front of your target market in an engaging and interactive way. Twitter is a major player today in this arena. But, who is on Twitter? Is it your target market? Is it the next generation of 30 somethings? My two children, son and daughter in their early to mid twenties, are not on Twitter. In fact, they are not on the internet. Certainly not as much as they use to be. You need to understand that they are the generation who grew up with a computer and the internet. They were power users. Today they are mobile and they are mobile telephony power users.

They took me and my fiance to dinner on Saturday and the conversation turned to Twitter and Facebook. I noticed they were not on these platforms as much if at all anymore. They looked at me like I was a freak. "Dad, cool people don't use Twitter. As for the internet. who has the time."

My son just bought his first home and didn't even bother to install the internet. He will eventually but it was not a priority. He is too busy and he lives on his mobile phone. He can access the internet through his mobile phone. In fact, as he said; "...no one calls on the phone anymore, we text". My daughter agreed.

This got me to think how fast the internet and the technologies it has spawned has changed so fast and is changing faster. In other words, is it possible a power house like Twitter can grow so quickly in 4 to 5 years can actually die a slow death or go dead like a super nova? Now I know that Twitter adapted and just became mobile. What I'm talking about is the possibility that the future of the internet is we may see new internet businesses come from no where, grow quickly and then disappear just as quickly.

I don't have a crystal ball to see the future. This is just speculation based on a casual conversation and observation. If this becomes reality it means, our business needs to adapt to change quickly to survive. Are you ready for this new changing and evolving economic future? Are you working with Digital Marketing Professionals to ensure you are taking advantage today of Digital Marketing? And, are you preparing for change? If not, you may become the next Dodo...extinct.

Rona MS 30K Bike Tour

2010-04-22T15:28:00.001-04:00

Together we will end MS.

I raise money for all the people with multiple sclerosis who need help financially to get through life and to help increase funding for research so that one day they will find a cure.

Personally, I have an uncle, an aunt and a soon to be sister in-law, all living with MS. To watch them go through the nasty MS development stages fighting to have a life of independence and ultimately life is my inspiration to walk, ride and champion this cause.

By supporting someone in our fundraising events, you can make a difference in the life of someone with multiple sclerosis. Proceeds from MS Society fundraising events provide support and services to help those living with this disease, their families and caregivers as well as fund research with three primary goals: to find a cause and cure for MS, repair nervous system damage caused by MS and stop MS attacks. We believe we will end multiple sclerosis, and with your help we can get there. Please give generously. Click Here to Donate to my 30k bike ride. Thank you!

N-Viro - A Good idea which so many people dont even know exists

2010-03-26T15:05:00.001-04:00

N-Viro International Corporation develops and licenses its technology to municipalities and private companies. Their patented processes use lime and/or mineral-rich, combustion byproducts to treat, pasteurize, immobilize and convert wastewater sludge and other bio-organic wastes into biomineral agricultural and soil-enrichment products with real market value. The company has generated sales in excess of $40 million dollars, since its initial public offering in October of 1993, which was underwritten by Robertson Stephens, Raymond James, Oppenheimer & Co., and Paine Webber.
Watch YouTube Video

Two Cats Flirting

2010-03-19T11:20:00.001-04:00

I was having dinner with a friend last night from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and he told me a story of two cats flirting. He had just arrived home late at night and was still in his car when he noticed a Tom Cat following behind a female cat. The Tom Cat would get the female cats attention with a moaning meow and the female cat would continue walking away but clearly puff up and look the other way. This continued until the Tom Cat had enough and turned away. The female cat noticed soon after that the Tom cat’s meows had stopped. What did she do? She turned around and pursued the Tom cat with a similar meow.

Why do I repeat this story to you in my blog? Because we both agreed last night as business owners, our success really began to grow when we least needed the work. When we had the sincere lack of interest in if we got a clients business or not, that is when the client wanted us more and was prepared to pay a premium for our services. The key word here is 'sincere'. We really didn't care because we were very busy. The challenge is how to do this when you are not busy. Instead of creating a fake lack of interest when you are not busy, reconsider not taking on jobs at cost or below cost because you are not busy. Too many times I would be caught in a project losing money and was unable to take on a profitable job. Lesson learned; pursue profit and play hard to get. I would be curious to know if this cat story has any other meanings to my readers. Please comment.

Travelling in the 21st Century

2010-03-02T06:09:00.000-05:00

I'm in Estonia and then travelling to Latvia, Lithuania and then a few days at the end in Frankfurt, Germany on business and pleasure for 2 weeks. I'm amazed at how easy it is for me to continue doing business with my office at home. The internet has reached many parts of the world with high speed reaching even remote parts of the world. The time zone difference allows me to act on questions and issues while my customers sleep and when I work in the night while they are awake.

Another aspect of the world is that business is the same the world over. We all want to grow our business and do it with the most cost effective marketing methods available today. Internet marketing is growing as more and more of us use the internet and with the ease of access to the internet for our customers growing globally, the internet has become the wrapper of the worlds economy.

We are and will continue to grow to be a digital world. I booked my airline tickets online. I reserved my rooms online. I even made last minute changes online. I stayed in touch with my business online and even with my family online (facebook). And now with you through my blog and Twitter. If you are in business you should already know that the internet is where your customers are and as a result you need to be marketing to them online. But do it right and hire a professional who can build a long benefiting online marketing strategy. Check out this offer from WSI: Click Here

WSI #1 Internet Services Franchise in 2010 - 10 Years Running

2010-01-06T11:33:00.000-05:00

WSI Corporate has released a press release sharing this newsworthy announcement about their 2010 Entrepreneur Magazine Franchise 500 Rankings...
Franchise 500® rank:

#56 (2010); #57 (2009); #46 (2008); #42 (2007); #46 (2006);

Top Homebased Franchises:

#13 (2010); #12 (2009); #9 (2008); #12 (2007); #9 (2006);

America's Top Global Franchises:

#49 (2010); #49 (2009); #26 (2008); #36 (2007); #6 (2006);

A Christmas Story - Paulo Coelho

2009-12-18T10:16:00.000-05:00

What is now becoming a Christmas Tradition, I received another story from one of my favorite writers, Paulo Coelho, which I am glad to share with you:

"Dear reader, As a way of thanking you for your support in 2009 and keeping with the tradition of the previous years, I am sending you the Christmas Tale I wrote for the columns I have in several newspapers around the world. May God illuminate us all in 2010, Paulo Coelho"

Merry Christmas (I know this is not politically correct but please accept it in the way it is meant - for hope to enjoy time with our family and friends and to give thanks to all for our lives) from my family to yours - Ray MacNeil

A Christmas Story

According to an old and well-known legend, a week before Christmas, Archangel Michael asked his angels to visit the earth. He wanted to know if everything was ready for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. He sent them in pairs, always an older angel accompanying a younger one, so that they could have a broader picture of what happened in Christianity. One of these pairs was assigned to Brazil, where they arrived late one night. Since they had nowhere to sleep, they took shelter in one of the great mansions that can be seen in certain parts of Rio de Janeiro. The owner, a nobleman on the verge of bankruptcy (which, incidentally, happens to many people in that city), was a fervent Catholic, and soon recognized the heavenly pair by the golden halos on their head. However, he was too busy preparing a big Christmas, and so as not to disturb the completed decorations, he requested that his heavenly guests to sleep in the basement. lthough Greetings cards are always illustrated with snow falling, Christmas falls in the middle of summer in Brazil, the sun was
scorching hot and the air, full of moisture, it was almost suffocating. The angels laid down on a hard floor, but before starting their prayers, the older angel noticed a crack in the wall. He got up, repaired it using his divine powers, and returned to his evening prayers. The two felt as though they had spent the night in hell, it was so hot. They slept very poorly, but they needed to fulfill the mission entrusted to them by God.

The next day, they went through the big city, with its 12 million inhabitants, its beaches and mountains, its contrasts, its beautiful landscapes and its horrible places. They completed their reports, and when night fell back they began to travel into the country. But, distracted by the difference in hours, they again found themselves with no place to sleep. They knocked on the door of a humble home, where a couple came to meet them. Lacking access to medieval engravings that portrayed the messengers of God, the couple did not
recognize the two pilgrims, but told the angels that if they were in need of shelter, the house was theirs. They prepared a dinner, presented their little newborn baby and offered his room to the angels. They apologized that they were poor and that while the heat was great during the day, they had no money to buy an air conditioner. When the angels awoke the next day they found the couple in tears. Their only possession, a
cow that gave milk for cheese, and support for the family, was found dead in their field. They quickly parted with the pilgrims, embarrassed because they could not prepare a breakfast.

While walking through the mud road, the younger angel showed his anger, “I can not understand this way of doing things! The first man had everything he needed, and yet you helped him by repairing his wall. Then with
this poor couple, who received us so well and kindly, you did nothing to alleviate their suffering!” “Things are not what they seem,” said the older angel, “when we were in that awful basement, I noticed there was plenty of gold hidden in the wall of the mansion, left there by a previous owner. The crack was exposing the treasure, and I decided to hide it again, because the landlord did not help those in need. Yesterday, while we slept in the bed the poor couple offered, I noticed that a third guest had arrived, the angel of death. He had
been sent to take the child, but since I've known him for many years, I convinced him to take the life of the cow in its place."

Remember the day that is about to be celebrated; since people didn’t give much value to appearance, no one wanted to take Mary in. But the pastors welcomed her, and because of that, they had the grace to be the
first to behold the smile of the Savior of the World.

Blog Management Is A Full Time Job

2009-12-02T14:47:00.000-05:00

Although I have written many posts and imported some posts and articles, my time is very limited to keep a daily monologue going. I do my best to submit a blog post with ideas and thoughts, information of relevance to business owners and budding entrepreneurs that I believe are of quality and substance. For me, this means less than the average bloggers number of posts. However, to generate repeat traffic to your blog with a loyal following and to support any internet marketing strategies you have in place, Blog Management Is A Full Time Job.

A blog for your business website is a powerful tool to help with your Search Engine Optimization 'SEO'. But, you should consider hiring someone as an employee or by contract to work with you on the content writing and helping you to stay in touch with your customers. Otherwise, you come out of the gate with your blog launch fully committed but like many before you who have tried, you may fizzle out to nothing. This may in fact cause you harm to your online marketing strategy as customers may interpret your now stale blog as an attitude of lack of caring for your clients.

A blog is great if done right. Do it right by first seeking out professional advice from a specialist in Internet Marketing and Social Internet Marketing. For example; search out a WSI Internet Marketing Consultant near your business. They have been in this industry since the beginning and working with Small and Medium size Businesses Globally since 1995.

Innovation In Franchising

2009-11-13T09:45:00.000-05:00

Here is a great blog article from Daily Franchise News on how franchisors accept or don't accept innovation from their franchisees Click Here

Smart Companies Flourish Online

2009-10-20T14:20:00.001-04:00

The following article appeared in the Emirates Business online paper written by a WSI Internet Consultant in the UAE. Clearly what I read is that there is a gold mine of oportunity for businesses in the Middle East and North Africa to grow with Internet Marketing. This WSI Internet Consultant, Mr. Husam Jandel, and other WSI Internet Marketing Consulting Franchisees are in the right place at the right time.

Click Here to read the Emirates Business article written by Mr. Husam Jandal

What Makes The Web Different From Other Media?

2009-10-01T15:53:00.000-04:00

I love the following image to answer the question 'What Makes The Web Different From Other Media'. A picture really can be worth a thousand words:

Retail Marketing Thinks Inside The Box

2009-09-03T15:46:00.000-04:00

Many, many years ago I started in Automotive Sales working for a small two store but well established Jobber. My job was to sell automotive parts to the local mechanics both professional and hobbyist. I remember one day learning from my mentor at the time, Dev, who had me fill a big box in the front of the store with a variety of miscellaneous items that had sat on the shelf so long that the dust was making me sneeze with my every movement. I questioned Dev on his strategy of burying items people don't want into a box they now have to dig through to investigate what is 'on sale'. His response was simple and quickly understood; "people (mostly men in this environment) like treasure hunts". He was right. Every person who walked in the store could not leave without at least a quick rummage through the box. I watched over an over the items being picked through with most people walking out with their unique treasure.

To this day when I see a box in a store I still can not resist the temptation to explore and treasure hunt in the box. Another 'Retail Marketing Thinks Inside The Box' technique for moving slow moving inventory is to package three or more items into one box marked on sale. There is always one item that appeals to someone and the rest of the items... well, wanted or not, they are all an added bonus.

The next time you are trying to think outside the box in your business, exploring for creative ideas, ask yourself if perhaps the answer can be found; inside the box?

WSI & Make Child Poverty History

2009-08-14T09:23:00.005-04:00

As Successful business owners we need to give back to our community. Kathy and I contribute our money and time to MS, Breast Cancer, The Princess Margaret Hospital and The Sick Kids Foundation (click here to donate to Sick Kids). What are you doing? Let me know with your comments. Here is a great example of a Canadian company leveraging their Global presence as the Internet Marketing leaders for business owners who are giving back to the world of children living in poverty. WSI & Make Child Poverty History.

Sick Kids Foundation

2009-08-11T09:19:00.002-04:00

My significant other Kathy and I have started to support Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as one of our Top 3 Charities. Sick Kids in Toronto has a history of not only specializing with the best research and doctors in the world but also the best care of children from around the world. We provide monthly a financial support and now we have launched a fundraiser website. We started with a very low and achievable goal of $200. Our hope is that with your help and the help of our family and friends that this goal is proven to be way too low. Check out our site and help the kids if you can: click here

rantUout.com - Speed Trap Cash Grab

2009-08-07T12:58:00.003-04:00

As many of you know, I just finished a 4100 km road trip down east in Canada and back through Lake Placid, NY, USA. Not once did I have a problem with the police. I also have a clean driving record after 35 years of driving. Yet yesterday I get stopped for speeding 2 minutes from my office. I work on a side road in a business district next to the international airport. This road is 4 cars wide but with one line down the center. It has no posted speed signs so as a result driving 81 km's per hour in what is supposed to be a 50km per hour zone as per municipal by-laws is defensive driving. In other words, if I exit my parking lot and enter the traffic accelerating to 50km per hour will get me rear ended or at a minimum passed by angry motorists flipping me the bird.

I have worked in this office for 7 years and it has always been this way. On my first day back at the office at lunch I get stopped doing 81 in a 50. I accept this and move on. What I don't accept is that the police nor the city have ever dealt with this street (signs, lines and radar) in the past or since I received the ticket. The net result is that they get my money and others money from that one afternoon. I now drive 50 km's per hour trembling with fear watching the fast moving car approaching in my rear view mirror and the obvious cursing of my slow driving from that driver.

To the city of Mississauga and the Peel Regional Police...don't use the street (Explorer Drive) as a one time cash grab. Fix the problem. You let it go for years and allowed a culture of fast driving to be created. Don't expect it to be stopped in one afternoon collecting cash from the safest of the drivers.

rantUout.com - New Social Media Tool For Your Rants

2009-08-04T13:12:00.004-04:00

I'm working with partners to build a web site to collect your personal rants about anything through the many social media tools online today. You can rant about the guy in the coffee shop who can't place his order quick enough using your mobile phone with a text message and or a video. You can participate in an ongoing rant through the site forum and blogs. There will be categories for rants for ease of use. Imagine sending a rantUout.com of the car in front of you who just cut you off in traffic. How about sending a rantUout.com of the poor customer service you just received in a restaurant that builds the gratuity into the bill. What if, with your high traffic usage of ongoing rants, we could make this so powerful with videos, instant messaging, blogs and forums that a threat of a rantUout.com to a service provider was enough for them to fix your situation. Well this is the plan and it can be done with your help. Send me your rants so we can start populating the first draft of our site. Let me know your thoughts of such a great site that you can use for free. Keep reading my blog for updates on our progress and the launch of our site sometime soon in 2009.

Can Ethics be Bought?

2009-07-16T15:37:00.005-04:00

Where do we get ethics? Can you buy them off a shelf? Can you be taught ethics? Do we get them from our genetic makeup or from watching our parents? All great questions.

Let me tell you a story of my early days in Purchasing. I was asked to sell off a large pile of scrap metal at our municipal Works Yard. I asked all the dealers to meet me on site to view the scrap and then to later provide me with a written quote. All arrived on this misty yet warm summer morning in the early 1980's. All but one drove near to the pile and began their inspections. One dealer however drove his dirty old pick up truck over to where I was standing. He got out of his truck beer belly flapping with gravity and his arm stretched out to greet me with a hand shake. I reached out my hand to receive him and stopped when I saw a $50 bill folded up in his creased hand. I asked him "what is that?" He proceeded to tell me it was a token of thanks because we were going to do business. I said, "keep your money, inspect the pile of scrap and present your price. If you are the highest bidder, we will do business". He did as advised. When I told this story to my Senior Buyer back at our office in City Hall he said "good for you. If you accepted the $50 you would have told the world you could be bought for $50." I was stunned by this. It suggests that we all have a price. His by the way is $1 million. I said I can't be bought. He said, sure you can. Someone just needs to find your price.

So what is Ethics? Is it black and white? Is their a grey area? Let me know your thoughts? By the way, I can't be bought for any price.

Holding The Cash Is A Great Motivator

2009-05-26T10:10:00.003-04:00

If you ask a poor man to set his goals high and dream big he will generally picture food on the table or a roof over his head. Another man might dream of owning a 42' sailing boat. We each have different vantage points and therefore see the world differently. And as a result, we dream differently. If we believe this to be true, then how can I as a leader of my staff ask them to dream big by providing a chance to win a trip or a leased luxury sedan for year, etc. These are what I believe to be great goals from my vantage point. However, from my employees perspective, paying down the mortgage or stocking the fridge for a few weeks might be more exciting. So, what should we do to motivate staff?

Let them hold the cash. Holding The Cash Is A Great Motivator. Take it one step further and get them to think about how they would spend the cash. Send them on a mission to find it, touch it, smell it, take a picture or get a picture of it for their office. The dream now becomes more real. It is their dream. Take a picture of them holding the cash and provide them the picture for their office. This will become a great reminder to go out and get their dream. The system or step by step process of how to make it happen is important but, without the desire and emotion, their dream will never be achieved.

You Can't Make An Entrepreneur

2009-05-08T14:08:00.005-04:00

'You Can't Make An Entrepreneur But, You Can Break One!' I was speaking to a friend of mine who has been involved with franchise sales for many years. Arnaldo Vieira has been a Master Franchisee and a Broker in North America and we were discussing what it takes to be a successful franchisee. What you first need to understand is that a true entrepreneur generally works outside the box, does not like to be controlled and would rather lead. They are also more of the risk taker. Most start up business owners would fall within the definition of a true entrepreneur.

A typical franchise business, a mortar and brick franchise, has a very tight system with many rules to ensure that a positive brand image grows and is not damaged. Imagine the true entrepreneur who is told he will be penalized for not opening on time or closing too soon or not having the toilets cleaned, the floors washed to the standard expected and the list goes on. Now, these are all important to ensure all the franchisees within the system benefit from this high standard. However, only a certain type of franchise owner works well in this environment.

This personality needs to be instructed and told what to do. Sounds much like an employee, doesn't it? The true entrepreneur in this environment will be broken. The same person who will succeed and, in fact, flourish with a system that allows them freedom will as Arnaldo stated; "...be broke". They will lose their initial excitement and passion and in some cases fail. A true entrepreneur is born, not made. Hence, what Arnaldo stated is correct; "You can't make an entrepreneur, but in the wrong franchise system, they can be broke".

As I have expressed in a previous post (Buying A Franchise...) follow my tips and make sure you know who you are when buying a franchise. Ask yourself how much control do I need and want and, how much freedom do I need and want?

A Franchise business is a great way to get into a business for yourself in an industry you have no experience in where you will be trained, supported and will not have to survive a learning curve most start ups go through to be successful in the long term. Just make sure you select the one that fits you!

Does The Internet Have a Future?

2009-04-29T12:50:00.005-04:00

'Does the Internet have a future' seems like an odd question to ask considering I'm writing on a blog offered for free through Google Blogger and the people reading my posts are from around the world and in most cases I have not met or will never meet. The history of the internet is short in comparison to other economic world events and industries that have preceded the internet. Such as the first flight or the first land line telephone call. It would be 50 plus years for these industries to go from critical event to profitable business and industry.

The internet has achieved this in far less time. But, is this a Super Nova event like an exploding sun? Is the internet glowing so bright that it will feed off its own energy thus killing itself off? I think not. It is reasonable to ask these questions because we have no other historical benchmark. Our traditional thinking and views don't apply...anymore. The internet is changing the way we live our lives and as high speed internet, wireless and Mobile technologies reaches more and more people everyday, it is changing the way we communicate at all generational levels. Thus, it is changing the way we conduct and do business.

From a marketing perspective, the future of the internet might mean an end to marketing to demographic groups. For example; if globally our children and their Grandparents, regardless of culture, all use the internet for the same reasons and in the same way then how can user habits be different from age group to age group and so on. As a result, a new type of marketing is emerging on the internet; Social Media Marketing or Social Media Optimization. Blogs, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Linkedin, Twitter, eZine, etc., all fall within this category. This is where we are all going to and as advertisers we need to be aware of this and therefore ensure our marketing dollars are moving to the internet with the basics (SEO/PPC/Email/Web Analytics) but also learning and marketing in the Social Media arena.

The biggest message I have here is that as a business owner, the changes are happening fast, too fast for a business owner to do internet marketing without expert Internet Marketing advice, guidance and consultation. Search out an expert in your community such as a WSI Internet Marketing Specialist and beat your competition to the punch by not only maintaining your market share but perhaps taking some away from your competition.

A Cure For The Common Cold Is Found: 'Cold-FX'

2009-03-19T09:18:00.008-04:00

The inventors of Cold-FX would never make the claim they have cured the common cold but I will. I don't have an army of lawyers telling me what I can or can not say. Bottom line is; I use the product and it works.

I started reluctantly and heard the many testimonials around me from family, friends and even the paid hockey celebrities but I did not listen. I suspect many of you will not listen to me and that is okay. The reality is that with a healthy diet, exercise and using Cold-FX as a preventative measure it will work.

I eat healthy, I exercise once in a while and recently started feeling the cold coming on i.e. sore muscles, sneezing, watery eyes, etc. I finally gave in and over one weekend the symptoms were gone and never came back. the amazing thing is that many in my office had the same symptoms and yet it lasted for weeks and in some cases they got better and yet it came back again. However, not with me. I was cured.

I will continue with Cold-FX as part of my daily vitamin intake routine and hope that my testimonial helps others remain healthy to keep running their business as owners must. If you have a great real life Cold-FX story I would love to hear about it. Add your story as a comment to this post.

The Holidays Are Over

2009-02-05T10:43:00.003-05:00

The Holidays are over and for most people the New Years resolutions are a recent memory. It is time now to face 2009 as a reality and plan to succeed. But how?

First; accept the reality that there is more competition, great caliber competition, for fewer employment positions. If you have been complacent with your career to date and did not continually improve then you pale in comparison to others competing for the same job. It's not too late, get involved in community groups (great networking opportunities) and take an industry relevant class or two.

Secondly; if you are still currently employed, what are you doing to shine above the others in your company? Are you networking internally? Are you making yourself a valuable asset to all departments within your organization? Do your Seniors know your name in a good way? What have you done for them lately? Find out what hobbies or activities you share in common and invite them to a game of Squash or golf as examples.

Third; have you looked at self-employment? What better time to get into a franchise business and stop the bleed of your investment portfolio. Find the right franchise business opportunity in the right industry that thrives in all economies and you have a winner. The internet certainly fits that bill. (check out the WSI Internet Consulting banner on my blog) The fact is; 2009 will be rough and tough for many people. Who? Those people who do not Plan, Prepare and Practice what they plan. Be a leader and you can and will succeed.

If you have a motivational story to share of how you succeeded against the main stream in today's economy then please share with others in my blog as a comment to this post. We can learn from others which can become a great support network.

Also, my apologies to my loyal readers for the long delay in writing, I've been busy planning for 2009.

Time To Reflect On My Goals With My Family

2008-12-23T15:02:00.003-05:00

This will be my last post for 2008 and I will make it shorter than what I'm sure most of you expect from me. For me, this time of year is the time to reflect on my goals and how I met or exceeded them over the last 12 months. What changes do I need to make to my goals if any and, do I need to create a new plan of execution on my goals for the New Year?

Without a plan I don't have a road map to success. Without a plan I may still reach my goals but I may take a longer more detoured route to get to my destination. Thus a map saves me time and fuel.

I also make sure that my family, (my support system), agree with my goals and my plan so that I'm not at odds with them over the year. For example; if working longer hours is a requirement to make more income which will give us a bigger house then, the family needs to agree that the goal of a bigger house is what we all want and therefore Dad, husband, wife, need to support each other during these times of sacrifice when working late. In other words, the goals and the plan become 'OURS'. We all take ownership. As a family we are all driving in the same direction taking the same route to the same destination. This will create a much more harmonious environment for all and will contribute to reaching your goals. Even if you are single and not married you still have family and a support system of friends. To succeed in business you need to succeed in life. You need a balance between family, friends, your personal spiritual beliefs and business.

I hope my experiences expressed give you guidance and again, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Paulo Coelho And Another Christmas Gift to His Readers

2008-12-18T12:28:00.007-05:00

I received a special Christmas email today from Paulo Coelho author of 'The Alchemist' which is one of my favorite books listed at the bottom of my blog. Paulo never forgets to send a special story at Christmas to his fans. We can learn from this in business and that is to never forget your customers at Christmas. All your customers, those small and great and those in your pipeline who will become your customers. Enjoy the story:

The music coming from the house

Paulo Coelho

On Christmas Eve, the king invited the prime minister to join him for their usual walk together. He enjoyed seeing the decorations in the streets, but since he didn’t want his subjects to spend too much money on these just to please him, the two men always disguised themselves as traders from some far distant land.
They walked through the centre of the city, admiring the lights, the Christmas trees, the candles burning on the steps of the houses, the stalls selling gifts, and the men, women and children hurrying off to celebrate a family Christmas around a table laden with food.
On the way back, they passed through a poorer area, where the atmosphere was quite different. There were no lights, no candles, no delicious smells of food about to be served. There was hardly a soul in the street, and, as he did every year, the king remarked to the prime minister that he really must pay more attention to the poor in his kingdom. The prime minister nodded, knowing that the matter would soon be forgotten again, buried beneath the day-to-day bureaucracy of budgets to be approved and discussions with foreign dignitaries.
Suddenly, they heard music coming from one of the poorest houses. The hut was so ramshackle and the rotten wooden timbers so full of cracks, that they were able to peer through and see what was happening inside. And what they saw was utterly absurd: an old man in a wheelchair apparently crying, a shaven-headed young woman dancing, and a young man with sad eyes shaking a tambourine and singing a folk song.
‘I’m going to find out what they’re up to,’ said the king.
He knocked. The music stopped, and the young man came to the door.
‘We are merchants in search of a place to sleep. We heard the music, saw that you were still awake, and wondered if we could spend the night here.’
‘You can find shelter in a hotel in the city. We, alas, cannot help you. Despite the music, this house is full of sadness and suffering.’
‘And may we know why?’
‘It’s all because of me.’ It was the old man in the wheelchair who spoke. ‘I’ve spent my life teaching my son calligraphy, so that he could one day get a job as a palace scribe. But the years have passed and no post has ever come up. And then, last night, I had a stupid dream: an angel appeared to me and asked me to buy a silver goblet because, the angel said, the king would be coming to visit me. He would drink from the goblet and give my son a job.
‘The angel was so persuasive that I decided to do as he said. Since we have no money, my daughter-in-law went to the market this morning to sell her hair so that we could buy that goblet over there. The two of them are doing their best to get me in the Christmas spirit by singing and dancing, but it’s no use.’
The king saw the silver goblet, asked to be given a little water to quench his thirst and, before leaving, said to the family:
‘Do you know, we were talking to the prime minister only today, and he told us that an opening for a palace scribe would be announced next week.’
The old man nodded, not really believing what he was hearing, and bade farewell to the strangers. The following morning, however, a royal proclamation was read out in all the city streets; a new scribe was needed at court. On the appointed day, the audience room at the palace was packed with people eager to compete for that much-sought-after post. The prime minister entered and asked everyone there to prepare their paper and pens:
‘Here is the subject of the composition: Why is an old man weeping, a shaven-headed woman dancing, and a sad young man singing?’
A murmur of disbelief went round the room. No one knew how to tell such a story, apart, that is, from the shabbily dressed young man sitting in one corner, who smiled broadly and began to write.

Based on an Indian story.

Translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa

To Use A Business Broker Or To Not?

2008-12-15T14:17:00.008-05:00

I've been asked many times by people who are looking at a franchise business if they should use a Business Broker and I've always stated that the best start is to decide what industry you want to work in first. The questions that should be answered first is; can I succeed in the long haul in this industry? Is it a high growth industry? How much market share will I have and how quickly can I grow my market share? Who is my competition and where is the competition coming from in the future? Can my franchisor adapt to industry changes and challenges in a timely manner so that I continue to grow my business? (reference Thomas L. Friedman's book 'The World is Flat' or click on my link to his MIT presentation found at the right side panel - 'My Favorite Videos Library') Will I enjoy working in this industry? Will my business afford me the lifestyle I'm accustom to and strive to achieve? For example; will my business provide me freedom to enjoy life or will it require me to be a slave to the business? Will it require travel?

Essentially a broker can help you identify these questions and then help you answer them by finding the franchise business that best meets your needs. Or, they could be helping themselves by matching you to a franchisor or selected few franchisors that meet their personal criteria which is; who pays the biggest and quickest commission.

I could go on and try and answer the question of 'To Use A Business Broker Or To not' or I can have you read an article from Entrepreneur.com written by Mark Siebert which will take you inside to the seldom seen world of the Business Broker. His insight will perhaps answer this question for you better than me. 'Should You Use Franchise Brokers?'

Here is also a great video discussion with franchise lawyers on the topic of; 'The Pros and Cons of Franchise Brokers' from the AllBusiness.com website.

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Lean And Mean At All Costs!

2008-11-19T12:27:00.004-05:00

'Lean and Mean' is a phrase I remember used back in my Materiel Management days and today we hear it used more and more in Manufacturing with Lean Processes and Inventory (or no inventory) Management systems. Having lived through other recession periods most recently in the mid to late 1990's I'm starting to hear the old battle cry from Business Managers and the Self Employed of; 'Lean and Mean at all costs'. Essentially what I'm really hearing is...employees can be sacrificed and taken advantage of at all costs.

Granted, that during times of great growth or success a business gets fat and a recession can be an opportunity to trim fat. But trimming to the bone is going too far. I'm a strong believer that a company is only as good as its employees and generally its employees are only as good as its management.

A synergistic management team that cascades down ideas and asks questions and allows open creative discussion between all staff and has continuous training will always succeed. Conversely, a management team that is afraid to speak for fear of losing their job and/or led by an over controlling manager will fail.

In this time of economic stress we need to trim fat, yes, but we also need to recognize the best in our staff and allow them to have ideas. Ideas that might foster other ideas in a true brain storming fashion and thus find new and innovative ways to cut costs, improve efficiencies and increase sales, etc. Lean and mean at all costs should not mean taking advantage of your staff by fear of loss of employment. In the end you may be out on the streets yourself, looking for a job.

Your Business Will Fail Within 24 Months

2008-11-04T10:00:00.005-05:00

Imagine reading in the papers, hearing on the radio and watching on TV everyday business investment and economy experts claiming that your business will fail within 24 months. What would you do? Would you curl up in the fetal position and wait for doomsday? Or, would the fighter in you do everything and anything to prove them wrong and keep your business alive? I would venture to say that most business owners are fighters. If we were not fighters we probably would have caved in against all the negativity we heard before we got into business.

So, if we are fighters why are we allowing the media to promote negativity? Sure, investment portfolio's have taken a hit and people have lost their home due to mis-guided sub prime lending strategies in the US but can we get through all this? Of course we can. Big business, employees of big business will be impacted by this first. The suppliers of big business will be impacted next. If you are an employee of a big business then you should look at getting into a business. A franchise business is a good decision. If you are a supplier to these big businesses then you need to get all your eggs out of the one basket. You need to fine new clients. The most value for your marketing dollar is Internet Marketing. Ask anyone who has moved part of, or most of, their marketing budget to the Internet why they did this and they will all tell you that it is because the Internet, if done right, will get you better results.

Don't do this yourself. Seek out a professional in Internet Marketing. Internet Marketing is much more affordable than you might have been led to believe given leaders in the industry such as WSI Internet Consulting who leverage their Global Presence to bring the costs down. But it is not about cost. It is about value. What will be the value, impact to your business. The cost is not as important as the value of the new business brought to your business. What is the cost to your business if you don't act now and seriously do something on the Internet? Do you take charge of your life, your business, or do you let life take charge of you? Perhaps the cost of not taking action now, not fighting, and thus curling up in defeat in the fetal position is as significant as; Your Business Will Fail Within 24 Months.

Warren E. Buffett - "Put Your Mouth Where Your Money Was"

2008-10-27T13:48:00.010-04:00

There is no getting around the fact that the stock market is a scary place to have our money right now. At least that is what many in the media would have us believe. In a short term investment strategy, (the get rich quick investor schemes), I would agree with these media doom and gloom naysayers. However, Warren Buffet like many others who follow a sound long term strategy based on history know that doing the opposite of the masses will generally reap you greater rewards, in the long term. In fact, Warren claims that; "...If prices keep looking attractive, my non-Berkshire net worth will soon be 100 percent in United States equities."

(click here to read Warren Buffett's opinion in The New York Times, October 16, 2008) The close of his editorial opinion says it best: "I don’t like to opine on the stock market, and again I emphasize that I have no idea what the market will do in the short term. Nevertheless, I’ll follow the lead of a restaurant that opened in an empty bank building and then advertised: “Put your mouth where your money was.” Today my money and my mouth both say equities."

Warren's close says it best for me. This restaurateur had the foresight and the bravery to act against the doom and gloom media provocateurs and put his cash into a business. Entrepreneurs want to grow cash in business and in these economically challenged times your personal money is best put into growing the economy at the small and medium size business levels. This is where the growth is going to continue more so as online advertising is leveling the playing field. Bigger business will be impacted first and hardest causing a negative impact on their employees and their suppliers. If you are presently an employee of a big company then you need to investigate self employment through the purchase and operation of a franchise business. The following presentation I came across from Franchise Research Corporation says it all best. www.franchiseresearchcorp.com/brief2810 Why wait years for your investment portfolio to come back to where it is today when you can get it back quicker in a franchise business. Makes sense to me.

Do Not Think Negative - Why?

2008-10-16T15:08:00.002-04:00

To answer this question we first need to understand the context in which it is asked. For example; if I was trying to lose weight/fat I would want to think negative. My starting weight is 200 and I want to lose 40. In this context, losing negative fat measured in numbers creating a loss is actually a positive. Are you still with me? I didn’t lose you, I hope. If I lost you that of course would be a negative. Why? Because my objective is to keep you reading which would be a positive outcome.

I think we can all agree that a negative is the opposing or opposite of positive. But, as demonstrated with my weight loss example, a negative could actually be a positive. I found a very interesting definition from a 1999 Meadows School, Las Vegas, ‘Debate Glossary’ that argued Negative is: “The side that opposes adoption of the resolution.” Wow! I really like that argument. This would suggest that the adoption side could be wrong if for example it had a negative impact on the majority or the masses. Then, if the majority could get the argument changed to their side then a new adoption would be challenged by the minority and the roles of negative versus positive would be switched. This suggest to me that negative (and positive) are in constant battle with each other and in some circumstances negative is positive and positive is negative. Hmmm. No wonder, many people struggle with the idea of positive thinking.

With the many negative thoughts that constantly argue with our internal rational thinking and emotional thinking meters and radars we will in most cases take the path of least resistance. This would explain to me why so few are truly successful in reaching their hearts desires and goals. Saying to someone “Think Positive” is just another opposing view to adoption and therefore makes the command negative in the mind of the receiver.

So, how do the top achievers reach their goals? Through practice and through trial and error. They have mastered their thinking and, to be a master, you have to expect to fail. But, you pick yourself up and you try and try again. You do this when you want to quit smoking. You do this when you want to get your drivers license and failed on your first attempt(s). You do this when you want to win the heart of the person who is your soul mate. You do this in business and you do this in life. If your dream and desire is strong enough as presented in my examples that most of us have experienced in life then you will adopt a positive plan to succeed and accept the negative as part of the ongoing argument that only strengthens your persistence and tenacity to succeed.

Well, if you are still with me and read this far then I congratulate you on your tenacity and you have just proven to yourself that you can be successful and that is positive thinking.

'Inch by Inch Life Is a Cinch...' - Mac Anderson

2008-10-09T13:32:00.002-04:00

I love this 'Simple Truth' from Mac Anderson:

When I was a freshman in college I learned an unforgettable lesson.
I was having a rough week when there was a lot to do and very little time to do it. I was overwhelmed. I panicked.
That night a friend stopped by my dorm room. When I told him my problem, he said, ?Mac, I'll share something with you that my grandmother told me a few years ago. She said to always remember: ?Inch by inch, life's a cinch. Yard by yard, life is hard.??
I said, ?Bob, come on. Here I am drowning in work and your lifeline is a quote from your grandmother. Come on!?
After he left, however, those twelve little words kept dancing in my head. I took out a piece of notebook paper and listed all the things I had to do in the next three days. That night I began knocking them off one by one.
Three days later I took out that paper and marked through the last thing on the list. It felt great! And then I took out another piece of paper and wrote down the words: ?Inch by inch, life's a cinch. Yard by yard, life is hard.? I then folded the paper and put it in my wallet. As many of you know, I've been collecting quotes ever since.
You see, success doesn't come cascading like Niagara Falls; it comes one drop at a time through short-term, realistic goals.
Experts on motivation disagree on a lot of things, but one thing they all agree on is that your levels of motivation are directly tied to your expected probabilities of success. In other words, if you believe you can do something (the goals are realistic), you're likely to be highly motivated. If, however, you think you can't (because the goals are unrealistic) your motivation level falls greatly.
The lesson here is to continue to dream big dreams, but realize that the short-term goals that take you to the next plateau are the real keys to success

Are Top Salespeople Champions?

2008-09-30T15:00:00.004-04:00

Is there a difference between a Winner and a Champion? Why do some people achieve their goals and others do not? Are the Top Salespeople Champions? Let me answer these questions for you by offering my personal observation.

There is a reality show in the United States titled; 'Dancing with the Stars'. Celebrities learn to dance many ballroom dances in unreasonably short time frames and then perform weekly on stage in front of millions. They are all winners for overcoming their fears and succeeding to complete their dances regardless if the judges gave them high or low marks or the viewing audience voted them back for another week or not. The champion is the one left standing after all the eliminations are completed.

My observation is that each of the celebrities are paired up with a Professional and Champion ballroom dancer who teaches them the dance and performs it with them on stage. From Champion to Champion when they worked with the frustrated celebrity they have all continued to provide words of inspiration with positive motivation. Defeat or not winning is not even considered by the Champion. They focus only on keeping the celebrity focused and remind them that they can and will do it. No matter how difficult the routine or short the availability of time they always get it done. This is the true nature of a Champion.

Top Salespeople I have found will share this in common with the Champion. Defeat is not an option. Optimistic and positive inspiration is their life. Setting goals and then creating a plan for execution is their routine. I believe that Top Salespeople are the Gold Medalists in business. What are you doing to be a Gold Medalist Champion in your career, in your organization and in your personal life?

Be mindful of your attitude. Help are others to succeed with your insights and positive words. Set Goals and then create a plan which you are prepared to follow. Be a Champion.

I refuse to be a 'Sneezer' for Microsoft

2008-09-12T09:21:00.004-04:00

Seth Godin in his book the Purple Cow talks about using the industry specialists, the industry pundits, to create a buzz about your product and brand. He calls these people Sneezers who spread the virus in marketing terms about your product and brand. Even if the Sneezers are spreading a negative buzz this is still good marketing. When I wrote about Microsoft and their $300 million ad campaign with Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld I failed to realize that I had been pulled into Microsofts 'Purple Cow' marketing strategy and became a Sneezer. The internet is a buzz now with bloggers and YouTubers waiting with baited breath to pounce on the next Microsoft ad. The fact that I'm writing a blog post now about Microsoft and their ads is continuing the viral marketing campaign they clearly intended to happen. I have been sucked in to becoming a tool of Microsoft. Congratulations Microsoft! A job well done.

The truth is, as much as I hate being a marketing tool for Microsoft, and not getting paid for my services, I admire their strategy. Microsoft has clearly taken a page right out of Seth Godin's book the Purple Cow and there are not many companies who would have the courage and visionary foresight to do so. This blogger gets it now and for those of you who don't get it I recommend you read Seth's book the Purple Cow.

If you want to view the second ad which is 3 times longer than the first click here.

Can Microsoft Survive?

2008-09-05T13:47:00.005-04:00

I just saw my first Microsoft TV ad which had Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld buying shoes and ending with a question posed by Jerry regarding tasty edible computers. I really don't get this ad. What is Microsoft thinking? Will the series of ads build a plot and have an exciting conclusion? Will the $300 million dollars Microsoft is spending on these ads with Gates and Seinfeld payoff in sales and branding? What kind of brand image will they create? As I said, I just don't get it. You can catch the ad on YouTube: click here and let me know your thoughts.

I can't help wondering if Microsoft has more money than they have visionary wisdom. I have been a PC user from the beginning and more and more I see Apple as the better alternative. As for an advertising budget of $300 million on television ads you have to wonder if they are in tune with where the tech buyers are seeing advertising which is on the internet. More specifically, on 'Social Media' platforms such as YouTube, FaceBook, MySpace, Blogs, etc. I mean even General Motors recognizes the internet as the best form of advertising today by increasing their online advertising budget from $197 million last year to $1.5 billion in 2008. Companies like WSI Internet Consulting, the largest global Internet Consulting Franchise Business with over 1500 offices in over 87 countries recognized Internet Marketing and Social Media as the latest wave of their sales worldwide and have certified their franchisees as Internet Marketing Specialists to the small and medium size businesses, the largest market in the world. With WSI consolidating this fragmented market they are leveling the playing field in the advertising world. It means that small and medium size companies can compete with the big boys on the internet.

As the SME's market share grows vertical channel by vertical channel, the market share enjoyed by larger companies will decrease. This will position WSI and their franchisees into a multi-billion dollar supply to SME's. Larger companies like Microsoft will see competition from the SME's that they just didn't see coming. As and when this happens, Microsoft will have to remember that not all companies can be bought. Apple certainly isn't selling and neither is WSI.

Entrepreneurs Seek Advice: Business Owner or Employee - Which Are You?

2008-08-29T17:25:00.001-04:00

Entrepreneurs Seek Advice: Business Owner or Employee - Which Are You?: "http://franchisefun.blogspot.com/2007/11/buying-franchise-does-not-need-to-be.html"

Back From Vacation, When Was Your Last Vacation?

2008-08-05T13:27:00.003-04:00

I just returned from a 2 week road trip from Mississauga, Ontario, through upper state New York, Vermont (Stowe) then through Maine to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island, PEI and back through New Brunswick, Quebec and then home. 5600 kilometers (3480 miles) was travelled and we saw a great deal including visiting family along the way. Nature made places of note, Ausable Chasm, New York, Hopewell Rocks, Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, and Cape Bear, PEI. Man made historical places of note include the Acadian Village, Caraquet, New Brunswick click here, Le Pays De La Sagouine, new Brunswick click here and the Highland Village in Iona, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia click here. We of course saw many other great sights but too many to mention.

When you work as an employee you plan your 2 or 3 weeks per year easily enough because your boss needs your dates in advance to schedule all their employees vacation times. When you're self-employed you need to plan but not a year in advance. With perhaps no more than a few days to juggle a few appointments around you are able to go at a moments notice allowing you much more freedom to get the right time for the right prices. I personally find that the least amount of planning generally produces the most rewarding vacation as well.

I also know that entrepreneurs have a tendency to over work with a reluctance to let go to others in their employ. Ask yourself why you got into business in the first place? Besides earning a better income wasn't it to also earn a better lifestyle? If you're not enjoying the freedom business ownership can bring through the success of your hard work then why do it all. When was your last vacation? Maybe it's time to reconnect with your family, friends, and mother nature. Maybe it's time to recharge your batteries.

Remember that people like to do business with people they like. A vacation gives you a refreshed attitude, making you easier to connect with and you also have a great opener with new prospects and existing clients by talking about your recent vacation. Don' forget, however, to listen to them tell you about their vacation. This shows you care. And you will care because that is how we build our business with repeat customers who refer us to other great clients. Have a great vacation - it could be the reason for your continued success!

Ray's Success Breeders Cup

2008-07-11T09:44:00.010-04:00

I've been thinking more and more about what contributes most to an entrepreneurs success and although it comes down to a combination of many influences the most important to me is learning from others who have achieved success. How did they get there? What drove them to success? Who played a part in their success? When have they achieved success before? Is success everything they hoped or planned it to be? What is success? What was their measurement(s) of success? What were the barriers to their success and how did they overcome these barriers?

These questions when answered by people who created success for them self and/or their company are answered they give all of us who strive for our own successes a potential road map to follow. I believe Success Breeds Success. Therefore, starting today, I will add a new category to my blog: 'Ray's Success Breeders Cup'

I will be searching out highly successful entrepreneurs and businesses on the move to have a one on one conversation to answer the questions above. This conversation will be added to my blog under this new category with a link to their website.

If you are interested in being interviewed by me by telephone, email or person to person, I'm opened to any method that is most convenient for us both. Just respond with your interest as a comment to this post and I will reply by email.

Remember: The true meaning of success is in the helping of others to succeed.

Cold-FX Teaches Business Owners About Prevention

2008-06-18T14:53:00.004-04:00

Is Cold-FX the cure for the most common illness, the common cold? Maybe. The makers of Cold-FX don't make the claim to cure the cold. They in fact have applied simple logic to this age old problem. The same problem that persists business owners and turns most of us into 'firefighters'. We run around the office in complete turmoil, always busy but never getting anything done, trying to solve urgent problems...'firefighting'. When we firefight we tend to ignore what is really important in our business and that is; working on our plan.

What does this have to do with Cold-FX? Plenty.

Cold-FX is a remedy that works on the age old Ben Franklin quote; 'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.'

Cold-FX claim to 'boost your immune system to stop, shorten or reduce cold and flu symptoms'. And from the people I know who use the product every day, it works. Why does it work? Because it doesn't wait for the cold and then try and cure the problem. It has a plan that when followed prevents the cold. Do you see the similarities to business and where I'm going now?

How many small and medium sized business owners, the true entrepreneurs, have a business plan? A Marketing plan of any kind? Not many, based on the many I have spoke to over the years.

Think of your business plan as your road map to success. Or, as your ounce of prevention...your Cold-FX. Make sure your plan lays out what you want to achieve in growth over the next 5 years. Start at a high level and then drill down to the point where you have a daily plan. If you don't know how to do this then source out some local expertise and get it done. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce for direction to perhaps resources or someone on their membership roster.

Sure you will have fires to put out occasionally but now you will be able to prioritize what is urgent, what is important and what can wait based on your plan.

Business Owner or Employee - Which Are You?

2008-05-17T11:55:00.004-04:00

I was reading some articles on ezine where I also post articles as an expert author and came across a great article. Kimberly Gingras has some personal observations that helps you determine the difference between the mentality of an employee versus the business owner. If you're thinking about making the move to self employment then you should read this short article by Kimberly on ezine: click here for the article.

New Business (Entrepreneur) Internet Marketing Support List

2008-04-21T12:19:00.008-04:00

If you are new to self-employment and trying to get your business message out to the market then you must know the power of the Internet. It is not enough to have a great looking website. Even if you spent thousands of dollars on that great looking website, if no one finds you on the Internet then it was a waste of money.

Too often I read about how small and medium sized businesses are sold a website by the local technocrat. Usually a recent tech grad from the local college. I have seen first hand bad looking websites out perform great looking web sites. Why? Because they are found on the top of the search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. Just imagine if you had a great looking website that was also on the top of the search engines...life would be grand. For this you need a professional Internet Marketing Specialist. However, in the interim, you can start getting your website noticed by the search engines by adding valuable content to your site. Text documents i.e. 'White Papers' are great and when they are downloaded frequently the search engines will see this as value and begin to move you up the page rankings. Adding a blog to your site which is text rich is also favoured by the search engines. So, this is where I maybe of help. Add my blog to your site and I will add your website link to my blog. As long as you are an ethical and legitimate business then I am agreeable to unite for our success.

The links list is in the right margin of my blog and top spot goes to Daisy of Unique Stuff For Them as she is the one who triggered the idea in my mind. Good luck to Daisy and good luck to all who start requesting my blog connection.

Think 'Inside' The Box

2008-04-18T14:59:00.008-04:00

I know, 'Think Inside The Box' goes against everything you have been told in this new era of evangelistic business gurus' shouting creativity for better productivity, higher yields, higher profitability, etc. They shout from the Ivory Tower roof tops to 'Think Outside The Box'. Well here is a possible paradigm shift...sometimes a re-invention of an old invention is the best invention. Perhaps building in the box is the best idea for an already successful idea.

Take for example the Japanese grocery markets who complained that watermelons odd larger shape took up too much precious retail display space. The natural reaction is to say too bad. Can't change mother nature. But instead, the Japanese re-invented a great idea by thinking inside the box. They grew watermelons in a box and the watermelon then formed to a uniform box shape. This saved dollars in shipping cost and allowed for more units at the point of sale, the grocery market.

What about the small wheels on our travelling suitcase. Two great inventions, the suitcase and the wheel come together to form an even greater idea.

What are you doing in your business to 'Think Inside The Box'?

Make Money As A Blogger With Bloggerwave

2008-03-26T16:35:00.006-04:00

I have just been introduced to this new Blogger Community that brings advertisers together with Bloggers. If you promote an advertiser you get paid. Sounds good to me so while I learn more you can as well. The following is their ad and if you want to go to their opportunity site click here bloggerwave:

'Do you have a blog and want to make some extra money? Then bloggerwave gives you the opportunity. Bloggerwave is aiming to be Europe's biggest advertising media on blogs and you can help us grow so more and more jobs will come.'

Why Pay Franchise Royalties?

2008-03-11T13:25:00.006-04:00

I read a great article at About.com on Royalties...Why are Franchisees Required to Pay Them? and this is something I have had a few discussions about. Many franchisees believe it is for services rendered to the franchisee on an ongoing basis. They are completely wrong. The Royalties are for the franchisors brand recognition and the franchisors proven system.

The franchisor through franchise development (selling more franchise operations) and the associated marketing grows the brand. When the franchise hits a 'tipping point' in franchise units sold the brand awareness at the street level explodes. This has been experienced by many large franchisors over and over again. McDonald's, Tim Horton's in Canada, etc., have all sold for less before this tipping point was reached. When the bucket tipped and their name was household then the cost for their franchise went up and so did the value of each franchisees business. Royalties support this part of the franchisors business. If you don't pay your royalties you are not only in breach of your agreement, you are also not reinvesting back into your business in an area that will have the biggest impact on sales, albeit over the longest period of time.

You can bet that in the beginning Tim Horton franchisees didn't want another franchisee across the street from them and probably tried to hold the Royalty at ransom to object to this intrusion to their 4 square blocks they drew business from. Today, not only are they encouraging this growth they are probably buying the corner across the street from Tim Horton's. The Tim Horton franchisee is doing more business today as a result of the brand being seen and experienced by millions of Canadians and now Americans, every day. This happened because of the convenience for the consumer to buy the product and now has become part of the Canadian culture.

Why Pay Franchise Royalties? Because it makes good business sense.

Cold Calling Tip #4 - Get An Agreement

2008-02-14T11:48:00.006-05:00

What is the definition of a good Cold Call? The answer is; 'Agreement'. At the end of each of your calls you should get an agreement to the next step or the next action to be taken by you and your suspect. For example; 'We will speak again on Tuesday at 3:15 to discuss my findings'. Or, 'I will call you in 2 weeks to see if anything has changed in your organization'.

Always leave the door open for a follow up to your call. These suspects then go into your calendar. If you have an agreement to a follow up then you must follow up. Your suspect will respect your professionalism based on the fact that you do what you say you will do. If you promise to send them some industry related information to their business in the next 10 minutes then make sure you send this information in the next 10 minutes. Your actions speaks volumes to your suspect on how you will be professional and responsive to their needs in the event you do conduct business together.

Getting an agreement can also be that there is not a good fit between what you offer and your suspects needs. Eventually you may have to accept that a NO is really a NO. In this situation, respect that decision with acknowledgement of the NO and remind them that if anything changes in the future to please contact you or refer you to any person they know who would benefit from your product or services. Offer them a referral incentive like a dinner for 2 at their favorite resturant. Be creative with your incentives but make sure it is what they would appreciate as a reward.

Too often I have heard from an excited sales person how they had a great call with a suspect where they connected at an emotional level and as a result the sales person didn't follow their agenda for the call and, didn't get the agreement to the next step. If you end a call not clear on what actions are to be taken next by both of you, including when you will speak again, then it was not a good call.

Remember that an agreement is where both parties agree to the next step. When you said you will follow up in 2 weeks on Tuesday at 3:15 did they respond "Yes that works for me"? If not, then you don't have agreement.

Get an Agreement on each Cold Call you make and watch your closing ratios increase. Watch your client list increase. Watch your revenue increase. Watch your life change.

Make Child Poverty History Toolbar

2008-01-29T16:12:00.001-05:00

Have you ever wondered how you can help the starving children around the world but stopped yourself because the problem just seems too big for one person to solve? Well now is your chance to once again think about this but from a more powerful position. WSI as part of their 'Make Child Poverty History' campaign has now launched the MCPH Toolbar. When you load this toolbar click here and then conduct searches over the internet using this toolbar Yahoo will pay World Vision to help feed children.

When you think about the billions of searches conducted on the internet every day you can just imagine how quickly this can grow if we tell the world about this toolbar. We all know WSI has launched a sponsorship program where they will match dollar for dollar every child you sponsor. As individuals working with companies such as WSI, Yahoo, Benefitbar.com and others we can eradicate child poverty in our life time.

Go ahead, make their day!

Cold Calling Tip #3 - What Did I Learn

2008-01-27T16:54:00.001-05:00

The fear of cold calling, prospecting for leads, can be over come by learning the objections, writing them down, preparing a great response to each objection and then practicing the responses. This sounds like common sense and it is but, like most common sense ideas, they require execution.

There are two great helpful hints to over coming the fear of cold calling in this tip. The first is that you learn the objections from each call you make. This means that you go into every call not with the objective to sell something and deal with the fear of rejection but rather with the objective to learn and improve. This mind set allows you to look at every call in a more positive and rewarding attitude. Therefore every call is now a successful call.

Secondly, if your call ends with no appointment then what did I learn from the call. What objections did the prospect have and how did I respond? How could I have answered the call differently? Write down the objections immediately after the call and then think about a better response you could have given if you had the opportunity to conduct that call again. Do some research if necessary to prepare a better response. The internet, your product marketing material, your existing clients, etc., can all contribute to crafting the perfect response. Once you have crafted the perfect responses then practice out loud.

The use of a digital recording device is great. Replay it, evaluate it, correct it, record it again and again, and again, honing your response until you don't have to think about. When you reach the point where you can respond to each objection automatically without thinking about your response then you are ready. You are now ready to try out your new skill on the next calls. In a week or two you can even try out your objection handling on the prospects you first learned the objections from. Always remember that any prospect worth calling on once is worth calling on again.

Cold Calling Tip #2 - Know Thy Self

2008-01-18T12:45:00.001-05:00

Cold calling sales prospects should be part of your prospecting plan. Your plan to generate leads may include networking, trade shows, seminars, referrals, etc. Cold calling is just one method of many lead generation tasks you should employ. Therefore, it should also be part of your weekly/daily plan. Let's say for example you plan to make cold calls for 1 hour per day each morning. This would then be the first task on your daily agenda or calendar. I don't know about you but some days my mood or energy level is higher or lower than others. Know Thy Self.

I may plan for one hour of cold calling each morning but if I'm at a high energy level I may extend this period when I have the time available. Alternatively, if my energy level is low I will only make a few calls. Why? Because my prospects are important to me and I don't want to jeopardize a new relationship because I said all the wrong words or did not express my objectives clearly or passionately enough to generate enough interest from the prospect to learn more.

I also don't want to carry over the negative energy from one bad call to the next call. If I have a bad call I will take a short 15 to 30 minute break from the phone and do something to clear my head and change my mood. For example; I do another task or take a walk. It is important to be in the moment with each and every call. I can't truly listen and engage with someone new if my mood, my energy and my thoughts are somewhere else.

Know Thy Self!

Our Lady's Juggler - A Christmas Tale by Paulo Coelho

2007-12-24T12:14:00.000-05:00

One of my most illuminating reads is the book; The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Anthony Robbins, author of Awaken the Giant Within wrote of The Alchemist; "I recommend The Alchemist to anyone who is passionately committed to claiming the life of their dreams - today."

Here is a special treat, Paulo Coelho emailed me a short Christmas tale that speaks of our individual gifts and the joy we can bring to others. From Paulo Coelho and my family to your family we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year beginning with the gift of Paulo's writing:

Our Lady’s juggler

A medieval legend tells us that in the country we know today as Austria the Burkhard family – a man, a woman and a child – used to amuse people at Christmas parties by reciting poetry, singing ancient troubadour ballads, and juggling. Of course, there was never any money left over to buy presents, but the man always told his son:
“Do you know why Santa Claus’s bag never gets empty, although there are so many children in the world? Because it may be full of toys, but sometimes there are more important things to be delivered, what we call “invisible gifts”. In a broken home, he tries to bring harmony and peace on the holiest night in Christianity. Where love is lacking, he deposits a seed of faith in children’s hearts. Where the future seems black and uncertain, he brings hope. In our case, the day after Father Christmas comes to visit us, we are happy to be still alive and doing our work, which is to make people happy. Never forget that.”
Time passed, the boy grew up, and one day the family passed in front of the impressive Melk Abbey, which had just been built.
“Father, do you remember many years ago you told me the story of Santa Claus and his invisible gifts? I think that I received one of those gifts once: the vocation to become a priest. Would you mind if now I took my first step towards what I have always dreamed of?”
Although they really needed their son’s company, the family understood and respected the boy’s wish. They knocked at the door of the monastery and were given a loving, generous welcome by the monks, who accepted the young Buckhard as a novice.
Christmas Eve came around. And precisely on that day, a special miracle happened in Melk: Our Lady, carrying the baby Jesus in her arms, decided to descend to Earth to visit the monastery.
All the priests lined up and each of them stood proudly before the Virgin trying to pay homage to the Madonna and her Son. One of them displayed the beautiful paintings that decorated the place, another showed a copy of a Bible that had taken a hundred years to be written and illustrated, while a third recited the names of all the saints.
At the very end of the line, young Buckhard anxiously waited his turn. His parents were simple people, and all that they had taught him was to toss balls up in the air and do some juggling.
When it came his turn, the other priests wanted to put an end to all the homage that had been paid, since the ex-juggler had nothing important to add and might even mar the image of the abbey.
Nevertheless, deep in his heart he also felt a great need to give something of himself to Jesus and the Virgin. Feeling very ashamed before the reproachful gaze of his brothers, he took some oranges from his pocket and began to toss them in the air and catch them in his hands, creating a beautiful circle in the air just as he used to do when he and his family traveled to all the fairs in the region.
At that instant, the baby Jesus, lying in Our Lady’s lap, began to clap his hands with joy. And it was to young Buckhard that the Virgin held out her arms to let him hold the smiling child for a few moments. The legend ends by saying that on account of this miracle, every two hundred years a new Buckhard knocks on the door of Melk Abbey, is welcomed in, and for the whole time he remains there he warms the hearts of all who meet him.

Paulo Coelho

Weekly Cold Calling Tip #1

2007-12-16T15:28:00.001-05:00

Every week I will furnish you with a new cold calling tip. Starting today with tip #1; Compliments of the house.

The truth is 'cold calling' has become a nasty phrase because we are thinking sales. We have to sell something on the call and I know I will be rejected. It is this negative mind set that gets us in trouble. Why not call someone just to explore for possible opportunities. Don't call to make a sale. Call to ask questions about their business and their industry. Offer them a complimentary gift for their time with you on the phone.

Let them know that you are exploring a good fit with your product and/or services to their industry and you have identified them as a respected leader in their industry. State the reasons why they are seen as a leader. You can source 2 to 3 reasons for calling them in most cases right from their website. If you have a name to drop even better.

Have your questions prepared in advance and make sure they are powerful thought provoking questions that get the prospect to explore their own business challenges. Perhaps so much so they ask to learn more about your products and/or services.

At the end of the 5 minute call you don't sell them anything. You only confirm their complete contact information so you can send them out the complimentary gift such as a free attendance to a seminar you are conducting in a couple of weeks or an industry white paper that is relevant to their business or even a gift basket which includes one or two items with your company logo and a business card.

Make sure to follow up with them after they receive the gift to make sure they received it and thank them again for their time. In another week follow up with them to offer them a white paper you wrote on your findings. Or a white paper you found that may speak to a challenge your prospect spoke to you about on your first call.

This method of follow up calls with a reason to call starts to build a relationship that brings all your cold calling to a new level. You are now calling people you know and who now know you...warm leads. In time they will get to know what you do better and eventually you will be in the right place at the right time. There is no such think as luck. Luck is made by frequent follow up calls to your targeted prospect.

Always remember the value of a gift by remembering how you felt when the restaurant owner said to you; "...Compliments of the house."

Cold Calling Tips?

2007-11-25T19:43:00.001-05:00

I've written on 'cold calling' as part of the sales process or prospecting for leads before and when I published my posts as articles at ezine they became my most read articles. When most people think about sales they think about cold calling. Regardless if they have conducted cold calling or been on the receiving end of a cold call, the topic brings negative emotions. In response to this great interest, I want to collect your cold calling experiences, good and bad. Post your experience as a comment to this post and perhaps we can create together some great cold calling suggestions and tips to make the experience more positive.

Buying A Franchise Does Not Need To Be Over Complicated

2007-11-18T11:27:00.001-05:00

I've been away for awhile focused on business and I'm back now starting with a post about how to select the right franchise business. When someone decides to be self employed there are many decisions and questions to be answered. The first decision is of course to be self employed or not? The second decision is to be a start up or to buy a franchise? Once you have in your mind convinced yourself that being self employed at this time in your life is the right decision and, you have the personal and financial support at home, and franchising seems like a safer bet, then the question is which franchise? This is where most people get confused and bogged down in the decision. Or, make the wrong decision because they look for the easy buck. The truth is that if you find the easy buck business it usually means illegal or low investment generally means low return.

The realty is any business worth your time and money will require you to work. To roll up your sleeves and perhaps take you outside your comfort zone on occasion. Most franchise businesses carry a level of risk. Granted a smaller level of risk than a start up but never the less, there is still some risk. A franchise, any good franchise, is about a proven system. The theory is; if you follow the system you will be successful. This is true but what if the system is only proven in one country? What if the system is only proven with one type of owner? We are not all the same. A franchise that is internationally successful is generally a franchise system that works well in many cultures with many personalty types. How long has the franchisor been franchising? If not many years with less than 500 franchisees how proven is there system? If you buy this franchise they may learn or improve their system on your costly mistakes.

What industry is the franchisor positioned? Is it a fast growth industry with little competition like the Internet or in fast food where not only is there local, national and global competition, you also have a changing society demanding healthier choices.

To earn 6 figures or even 7 figures net profit annually in a franchise you generally need to own more than one franchise. This is due primarily to high overhead, (investment finance costs, buildings lease/mortgage, equipment purchase/rent/maintenance, staff wages, inventory carrying costs and the cost of loss of inventory, etc), combined with low profit margins - well you see the problem. Don't worry. It's not all doom and gloom. There are franchise opportunities where the initial investment is reasonable, the overhead is low and the profits are great. You just need to be focused on this in your search.

Most importantly, if you love what you are doing then it is not a job. If you enjoy what you are doing the money will come. Knowing all of this the best advice I can give you is to start with the Entrepreneur Magazine top 500 rankings. They have been ranking the best of the best for about 28 years and every franchisor wants to be on the top 500 listing. Once you have decided what industry you want to be in, then it can be as simple as asking yourself, can I afford the number 1 company in that industry? If not, does number 2 fit in my budget? Perhaps there is another industry I can work in where the training and support is so substantial that my lack of experience and knowledge is not a problem? Bottom line is; if you want a franchise business and want to protect your investment then review my advice today and then invest in the franchise you can afford which is ranked by Entrepreneur Magazine as the the best and not to be afraid to roll up your sleeves and learn and grow outside your comfort zone.

Viral Marketing And Social Networking

2007-10-12T12:41:00.000-04:00

I found a short video presentation that further speaks to my post: Internet Social Networks Are The New Frontier

Paul Martecchini is the principle of PowerStar Consulting, LLC, and he provides some great examples with some tips for success demonstrating how powerful and inexpensive Internet Social Networking can be. Click here

Sales Managers Don't Sell?

2007-10-10T13:06:00.000-04:00

Too often we promote top sales producers to managers and this fails the individual and the company. To be a top sales manager should mean to be a top people manager. You may hear the argument that sales people are different and only sales people can understand sales people. I argue that people are people and in most cases the manager must determine what motivates the individual and the collective. You may hear the argument that a sales managers' base salary goes right to the bottom line and is difficult to justify. I would argue that without a sales manager who doesn't sell, who manages people, also goes right to your bottom line. That the bottom line is a moving line and without the right person in the right job your sales will stop growing.

I just read this 'rough notes' article on hiring a sales manager with no insurance sales background for an insurance sales company. As in most organizations some people reacted negatively and resigned. In the end the companies sales increased and most individuals earned more income than imagined. One thing sales people are motivated by is money. When they see more, they smile more.

Any company that wants to grow must at some point bring on a professional sales manager. It is not a matter of choice, it is a matter of success!

From Baby Boomers To Millenials

2007-09-29T09:15:00.000-04:00

I recently read an online article written by Krisserin Canary of iMedia Connection titled 'Give Your Marketing Campaign A Millenial Make Over'. This is a great insightful article from a Millenials first hand perspective. Krisserin takes us into the minds and habits of this multi-tasking generation which is important to understand if you plan to target this market for sales and/or build brand loyalty.

As I read her article, I couldn't help thinking about my generation - the Baby Boomers. Where did we go? We are the largest generation who are now entering or are in retirement. We are the wealthiest generation and we have cash to spend. I know it may be too late to create brand loyalty with us but remember this, we are on the internet as well. Grandparents and parents are emailing, messaging, facebooking, downloading, blogging, researching on the net and even buying on the net. After all, ebays' success is in a big part because of the entrepreneurial Baby Boomers with extra cash. Don't get me wrong, we need to understand the Millenials and we know that a marketing campaign to them must include the internet and must be creative, non-intrusive or stealthy as demonstrated by some companies using YouTube. All I'm saying is don't forget the Baby Boomers.

Bloggers Are Rushing To BlogRush

2007-09-22T12:54:00.000-04:00

Blogsphere has launched BlogRush as a third alternative in increasing traffic to your blog. The other two choices can be expensive or time consuming. This is free and you are up and running within 5 minutes. Click here to visit their video introduction site. Also, let me know what you think about BlogRush and if you have any other suggestions on how to increase traffic to blogs?

WSI & YouTube

2007-09-02T18:47:00.000-04:00

More and more businesses are marketing on the internet following their target markets. If they won't come to the mountain we must bring the mountain to them. WSI - 'We Simplify The Internet' is a Global leader with more than 1500 franchise offices in over 87 countries who educate small and medium size business owners on the benefits of marketing on the net. They offer a unique ABC solution that leverages their economies of scale, 12 years of experience building business web solutions which means they have a repository of code that can be used over and over again. This means their client gets a web presence that is affordable, quickly delivered, virtually bug free, and will be seen by their target market (who is searching for their product and services) within hours of launching the site.

Many companies can boast they are great at building web sites. Many companies can boast they are the SEO experts and many companies can boast conversion numbers that may or may not be true. But no company other than WSI offers everything to a small and medium size business owner at a price they can afford. No company other than WSI can boast 12 years, founded in 1995 when only 2% of businesses had a website. But most of all they leverage the knowledge share network of over 1500 franchise owners, Internet Marketing Specialists, who communicate regularly sharing industry information. This gives them an insight to this emerging marketing venue that no other company can boast.

I no longer train WSI franchise owners, they train me.

Check out this YouTube video advertising WSI. They get it. The internet and places like YouTube is where your business needs to be seen. This is one place where your customer is today and we need to follow our customer to continue to deliver our marketing message.

Internet Social Networks Are The New Frontier

2007-08-26T11:41:00.000-04:00

I wrote months ago about Blogs: The New Frontier and I want to republish that post as a follow up to my last post on Internet Social Networks like Facebook becoming the new marketing venue. Let me correct both posts with Internet Social Networks Are The New Frontier. Blogs and Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, etc. under title of Internet Social Networks are the New Frontier for in tuned marketing professionals and experts. As a small or medium size business owner you must make yourself aware of this and be sure to invest your precious marketing dollars wisely. The best money you will ever spend will be to consult an internet marketing specialist. Don't wait to be too late. Too late may mean your forced out of business by your creative and fore sightful competition.

FaceBook Is The New Marketing Venue

2007-08-23T09:41:00.000-04:00

I have to admit that I'm lagging in the internet social networking arena. My young adult children are more involved with Facebook for example than I am but I will learn more. Why?

Look at these numbers from emarketer.com

An article I read in Forbes.com suggests that not only is Facebook growing fast it should be larger than MySpace given the user friendliness and marketing strategies of Facebook. For example; companies like IBM and Microsoft and of course Forbes.com are creating their own open or private communities in Facebook for free. The potential here is awesome. Imagine the intellectual capital of past and present employees coming together in one venue sharing ideas. That is one possibility which is an innovation incubator of ideas for a business. Imagine the marketing power of having your brand viewed perhaps with video (YouTube) and seen by a target market interested in your product or services. After all, with PVR on TV's and people going to the kitchen or washroom who actually watches TV commercials anymore. If a business is not marketing or planning to market on the internet very soon they will be throwing their marketing money away. Facebook is just another example of where our target markets or consumers have gone and we need to follow.

I Don't Want To Die With Any Regrets

2007-08-20T14:13:00.000-04:00

As a follow up to my post; Fear Of Change - Why? where I wrote about the fear employees have with change within an organization I now want to write today about the fear of getting into business for yourself.

Too often I hear from people who like the idea of being in business for themselves but think the risk is too great. Business ownership in their mind is for the risk taker, the entrepreneur. This thinking could not be farther from the truth. I have not met a business owner yet who did not calculate the odds, weigh the advantages and disadvantages, examine their skill sets, identify their weaknesses and strengths before making a decision to go or not to go. We work too hard for our money to just gamble it away. In fact that risk taker is sitting in a casino playing the slot machines.

True entrepreneurs differ from the masses in one unique characteristic, they are optimists. They see the glass half full, not half empty. Why is that? Is it their astrological sign that predetermines their outlook on life? Is it in their schooling? Is it in their upbringing? Ahh...I think we may have something here.

I watched my father growing up in Toronto, Canada, in the 1960's working a job to pay the bills and my mother working nights so she could raise us during the day. But they were always looking for ways to make extra money. My dad started a painting business and would market himself door to door and provide his services on the weekends or late into the night. My mother, originally from Cheticamp, Nova Scotia, grew up hooking rugs which are a very popular item in the arts and crafts collectors circles. She would hook rugs and send them back home to make extra money.

Watching this as a child I must have picked up that this is life and work and being creative to earn money is normal. For example; I had 3 paper routes, shoveled snow, cut grass, anything to make a buck. In fact, we use to collect 'etch -a sketch' toys that were thrown into the garbage by Peter Austin and rebuilt them into working condition. We planted ourselves outside the Toronto and Ontario hydro and sold them for one dollar each to the workers as they exited the buildings going to their cars. We even developed, marketed and operated a couple of neighborhood fairs to other kids for a .25$ entrance fee. For attractions we had guess the number of marbles in the jar, sit in the new car for a fee, play in the water, music, etc. We were young entrepreneurs.

I'm sure our parents had a great impact on how we live our lives today. They can also have a negative impact on how we live our lives today. How often have you heard from your parents the words; NO, or DON'T, or THAT IS NOT SAFE, etc.

We are conditioned through repetition by the words of our loving parents at an early age to embrace caution or to not try . The good news is that we can over come this conditioning. We can change. Positive affirmations spoke out loud to yourself daily is one method and writing goal cards and staring at them everyday is another. The list goes on and any one of Tony Robbins seminars will be helpful in this regard.

What motivates me to succeed is the fear of sitting on my rocking chair when I'm old wishing I had tried. I'm not afraid of failure. If you fail you brush yourself off, take stock of what you learned and then move on. But to never have tried, that scares me. I don't want to die with any regrets.

Let me know what motivates you to succeed where others have failed? What motivates you to be successful in business? What drives you to change? Are you motivated by fear (running away from pain) or motivated by pleasure (running toward your big dreams)?

"Gut Feel" Decision Making Is NOT Cosmic

2007-08-17T10:07:00.000-04:00

Here is a follow up to a post I wrote on "What Would You Wear For A Client Presentation":

As a salesperson, have you ever made a "gut feel" decision on a prospect that prevented you from being your best or caused you to act your best? I'm talking about that sales call where within a few moments you are in your mind closing down the meeting as a waste of time and those calls where you are connecting and are in your comfort zone. Even the best sales person has had both experiences. Of course we know that the best sales people will match and mirror verbal and body language, not pre-judge (cherry pick) and ask questions that get the prospect selling them self to you and focused on them. But, I don't care how good you are we all had at least once the gut feeling that sent a sales call into a tail spin.

Have you ever asked yourself where that gut feel comes from? It is NOT from the cosmos. It is not the perfect or not so perfect alignment of the stars or a universal vibration theory. It is a culmination of all the external stimuli entering our subconscious mind.

Let me put it to you this way, if you were meeting with a financial expert for the first time who was going to plan a personal financial freedom portfolio for you and he arrived at your house in a 15 year old car that was falling apart and got out of the car in loose fitting clothes that were wrinkled and his appearance was unkempt your subconscious mind would be sending a message to your gut feel center of your body that maybe this isn't the right person to manage your money.

Or, what about the construction contractor you are meeting that is going to discuss building an addition to your house for a budget of $100k and he shows up in a beat up old rusted van and doesn't take notes and after looking around the house in 5 minutes he is quoting numbers to you on how much it will cost to complete the project. Again, your gut feel is telling you that maybe this isn't the right guy to trust with your home and money.

Both of these examples, if not for our gut feel, could have been the best person for the task at hand but we will never know because we elected not to do business with them. In fact, we probably elected to not listen to what they had to say because we made a snap decision to not use them and now you are focused only on how to get them out of your house sooner as opposed to later.

Now we know our gut feel can be fairly accurate but I'm sure it can be just as often not so accurate. For example; I'm a sales person calling on a General Construction company and the owner is dressed in blue jeans and a t-shirt. His office is decorated in construction industry chic, drafting table and coffee table covered in blueprints, sales samples, business cards, junk, etc. He is hurried and his language is very blunt and to the point. My gut feel might be telling me that this guy is uneducated, blue collar tough with cash flow problems and will never buy my product or service. If that was my feeling my attitude will be to end this call as quickly as I can and move on. Guess what, that person might have been me. I am dressed this way because today I'm on the job site and my guys who I know don't respect the suit. In fact, my clients expect me to be dressed down and when I meet with them I was in jeans and a golf shirt with my company logo. What you never found out is that we are busy because we are good and as a result we have loyal customers with repeat business. In fact our bank account is in 7 figures. You just lost a great account.

When you are in sales you must research your prospect before you meet them and know that prejudging (cherry picking) can cost you business. Be careful of the "Gut Feel". Gut Feel decision making is not cosmic and in reality is a culmination of what we see, hear and feel. Now that you know this, how do you present yourself to your prospect? What subconscious message are you sending to your prospects gut feel center?

Sales Force Retention

2007-08-15T12:55:00.000-04:00

I came across this great article written by Jeremy Miller with LeapJob.com which speaks to the Sales Force Retention Myth. This is a great follow up article to my post on the Top 10 Sales Manager Mistakes.

This article is worth the read: click here

Vacation Opened My Eyes To Need For Entrepreneurs

2007-08-12T19:55:00.000-04:00

I just returned from a vacation to New Brunswick, Canada, to visit my family for my parents 50th wedding anniversary. The trip was great and the barn party we threw for my parents was a great success. The time I spent with my family in the fresh country air was priceless. My brother recently relocated to New Brunswick from Toronto and started a general construction business there a year ago and business is booming for him based on his experience and quality of workmanship. In fact he could be bigger if not for one significant problem, there is no young labour force in New Brunswick. Or at least not a labour force that wants to work. Most of the hard working youth has moved out to western Canada in pursuit of the promised big money.

What I saw in New Brunswick is lots of potential with lots of customers. The labour force is cheaper to employ than all other provinces west of New Brunswick and the cost of living is also lower. The biggest problem for New Brunswick, in fact all of the maritimes, has been a legacy of generations use to feeding on the government teat. For the truly industrious or entrepreneurial finding a labour force willing to work hard all year long is difficult when it is easier to work long enough until eligible for unemployment insurance. However, if you can be like my brother and build a business by yourself first as he has done (he now has a waiting list of customers months long) the labour force will come to you for job security. The mass exodus of youth to Alberta says only one thing to me, they want to work but they want a trade and they want to better their life from their parents. Bring the employment to New brunswick that pays fairly and teaches the youth to be proud of their job and I know they will stay home.

There is lots of money (customers) in the maritimes, there is government support for new business entrepreneurship and word of mouth advertising is faster and more loyal than here in Ontario.

If more entrepreneurs invest in the maritimes more of their youth will stay and return to work. Land in New Brunswick is a small fraction of what land is in Alberta or Ontario and as entrepreneurs build the economy in the maritimes land ownership will become the next great investment for your personal portfolio.

My eyes are opened and I believe that New Brunswick in particular is the next best entrepreneurial investment.

Solution Selling

2007-07-20T10:09:00.000-04:00

Solution Selling is the ideal title for describing what all sales people should be doing at all times. They should be asking questions with prospects or existing clients (which I see as prospects as well) that identify their most immediate problems and then the sales person presents a solution to their problem(s). In this environment you are not selling the lowest price. You are offering value to your prospect that they can see benefit from that actually impacts their bottom line. The impact can be either in savings or in additional revenue to their company.

A sales person should be proactive and constantly researching their prospects industry and business. Let's say for example your client's business is in merger consideration and if taken over by another company could cause you to lose the client to your competition because the other company has a larger say in the supplier decision making process. The proactive sales person would be working hard to do business with the businesses entertaining the merger. Perhaps you can even solve problems for these new clients that have nothing to do with what you are selling. If and when a merger does happen your name (and the company you represent) has a better chance of not only maintaining your existing client but also growing the business with this merger.

In addition, too often sales people bid on a "solution" and when the decision is delayed they get nervous and start offering a reduced price. Here is an excerpt from Sales Performance Blog post; "If The Economy Slows, How Should We Sell?" that states my point clearly:

"...what most salespeople do: they simply react by cutting price or offering other kinds of substantive concessions. Ironically, aggressive discounting at the end of the cycle can actually increase the perception of risk by customers. They may wonder, “Why did you quote me a higher price before? Is this now the best price? What kind of price could I get if I delay further?” This begins a death spiral of further delays, followed by additional discounts, until all profit margins are completely squeezed out — which is bad business for both the seller and the buyer."

In summary, Solutions Selling is presented on value not price. And is proactive not reactive.

Top 10 Sales Manager Mistakes

2007-07-14T09:42:00.000-04:00

I find it interesting that when I search the internet for articles on sales the focus is generally on the sales person and not the manager. I do appreciate the importance for sales people to improve their sales skills but who is improving the manager? Let's look at what I believe are the top 10 sales manager mistakes:

1. The Sales Manager/Account Rep who has to wear two hats. To be a successful sales manager you must be a manager of your people and focused on their success. If they succeed, you succeed. Give up the account rep role even if it is a plum account. You can still be involved with the account but you should be there to support or help close for your rep.

2. The Let Me Sell Sales Manager; a great Sales Person does not always mean a great Sales Manager. Some of the most successful sales people I have met over the years were the best closers. Aggressive, talkative and very social. However, many of these people when moved to a managers role began to fail. Why? Because they spent their career focused on their success. It is very difficult to turn that switch off. It requires EI, Emotional Intelligence. I believe a measure of a persons EI is nurtured over the years and also has to do with how they are wired. In other words, they are naturally empathetic and care about the success of others.

3. The I Can Do But Can't Teach Sales manager; a great sales manager must be a great sales trainer. Too often I see sales managers who are great communicators but don't know how to reverse engineer what they do to teach others. Send them off to a seminar or get additional training outside the company is their mantra. My suggestion is for this sales manager to get some training on how to train.

4. The Ivory Tower Sales Manager is the manger who is not accessible. They have the "I've made it" attitude and hide away in their big office sending emails and planning golf games and taking trips. Sure the sales manager needs to do this but not if their objective is get as many perks out of the job as possible. In other words, their rep or the reps client could care less if they were there or not and in fact, would prefer if they were not there because it is effecting the nurturing of the relationship started by the rep.

5. The Harping Sales Manager is the person who never upgrades their experience and knowledge of sales and is stuck in an old school mentality. They believe if they answer any question with a standard response or sales management spin or use a strong arm bully approach this will work on their reps. All this does is churn out sales reps causing a low retention rate and from the outside looking in, your clients and prospects don't want to work with a company that can't even keep employees or keep them happy.

6. The Sales Manager With "I" Problems is the person who takes credit for all the teams successes and passes mistakes and failures onto their team or an individual. If you want to be a leader, a sales manager, then you must take responsibility publicly for all failures and pass the accolades onto your team. The respect you will garner from your team will be inspirational and they will climb the highest mountains for you to make you proud of them. In some respects you are assuming the role of a parent and they are the child. Your vocabulary should then change from "I" to "We" or "Them". Try it and see how good it feels.

7. The Grunter Sales Manager is the person who never listens to his reps and shows their lack of interest in many ways. For example; they keep working on their computer with their head down responding with a grunt on occasion. When a rep has a problem, stop what you are doing and listen. Now I know we need to manage by effort but if they are in your office then we must assume you gave them permission to enter and therefore speak to you, so listen to them.

8. The Talker Sales Manager is the person who loves to hear his own voice and never truly listens to his reps. "Seek first to understand before being understood" is Stephen Covey's 5th principle from his book the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. This essentially means we need to listen with our ears and our heart. We need to connect by understanding the other persons view point before having them understand our view point. Listen, but NOT with the intent to respond. Which means don't be deaf because you are thinking only about what you are going to say next.

9. The MBA Sales Manager is the person with very little real life experience but has a wealth of education that abounds with theory. I pity the reps with this person. This sales manager answers every problem with a book answer. Throw the book away and get some real sales experience under your belt.

10. The Numbers Guy Sales Manager is the person who tries to manage the rep by the Statistics but has no clue on how to interpret the numbers. In the old days maybe a poor rep could be motivated to work harder by the numbers but reps are smarter and more educated today. One thing we all know about stats is they can be interpreted to mean what ever we want to say. As sales managers we do need to be on top of the numbers but don't use them as a big stick to get your reps to work harder. The numbers should be used to isolate problem areas in your sales process unique to the individual and the team. Then once isolated you work together to fix the weakness.

WebEx Video Conferencing

2007-07-13T13:53:00.000-04:00

I don't normally write about one of my advertisers but this one is special. I use this product and between the combination of ease of use and the interconnectivity of users, it is great. For example, every two weeks I set up a live web conference between Toronto and Japan. Not only can we see the presentation with PowerPoint and access live into a CRM (Client Resource Management) system which we are implementing we can communicate by voice, and video if we chose to do so. That is all great but to consider the distance between Toronto and Japan and even though we expect a lag of seconds we don't see it or experience any time lag. This is an absolutely brilliant technology.

Britain Says 'Cheers' for Online Adverts

2007-07-08T15:39:00.000-04:00

I get updates daily from emarketer.com and this following insight to the Brits shows how much quicker they are to adopting internet marketing but most of all, demonstrates to me where the world of business is going to advertise now and in the future. /Ray

"JULY 3, 2007
The old guard is changing, and fast.

If your impression of Britain is a bloke in a bowler hat, think again. Far from being set in its ways, the UK is becoming a model for the future of advertising around the world.
In fact, Britain is set to account for over half of all online ad spending in Western Europe this year. That share will rise to 52.6% of regional online spending by 2011 amounting to nearly £4.5 billion ($8.2 billion).
" Several recent developments, including Google?s planned acquisition ad-serving company DoubleClick Microsoft?s announcement that it hopes to buy aQuantive, another player in advertising sector, signal a radical transformation online advertising,? says Karin von Abrams, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the new report, UK Online Advertising. "The UK will be in the vanguard of this change."
The health of the UK economy will continue to provide a firm underpinning for online advertising in Britain. Today, few advertisers remain unfamiliar with digital media, and both new and established brands increasingly have the funds, the will and the agency partners to invest confidently in online campaigns.
"Several sectors will drive the UK online advertising market between now and 2011," says Ms. von Abrams, "such as paid search, social networks, mobile platforms, rich media and personalization."
The importance of the rise of Internet spending is difficult to overemphasize.
With the rate of advertising growth declining, and Britain's share of world spending also diminishing, the growth of the online marketplace has made a remarkable contribution to the UK's advertising landscape, and given an enormous boost to spending overall."

Marketing On Wheels

2007-07-06T20:33:00.000-04:00

I was driving during rush hour as millions of us do daily and in front of me today I was reading an LED scrolling across my line of vision promoting Air Canada. Now you may be thinking, what's so unique about that? Answer: it was on the rear license plate holder which was on a family mini van driven by a mother with children sitting in the back seat. Why she would be promoting Air Canada I can only guess. But, what it did do was made me go to the Air Canada web site to investigate this further. Nothing there could be found about these LED license plate holders. But it did get me to go to their web site. I did some more searching and found a site that claims to be the "original" of this LED scrolling display and therefore the cheapest, ScrollingStuff.com.

Just imagine how powerful this would be for your entrepreneurial business if you were to have your business website address scrolling across the back of your car. Everyday, people are stuck in traffic reading your URL. Eventually their curiosity drives them to go to your web site. And to their surprise they are greeted with; "welcome" and offered a discount for visiting your site from seeing the LED display. Building a website for your business is only the beginning. You still need to drive traffic to your site and then covert them to customers.

Scrolling Stuff offers these LED scrolling display license plate holders for $49.99 usd plus shipping. A reasonable price considering what we spend on Telephone Directory advertising that does little to drive traffic to your website.

I love this idea and if you have a fleet of vehicles you may want to look into this thinking outside of the box idea and start 'Marketing On Wheels'.

PVR - Personal Video Recorder Can Save Our Children

2007-07-02T08:50:00.000-04:00

I finally joined the 21st century and I had installed a PVR (Personal Video Recorder) on my TV. I have this service through my satellite hook up with Bell Canada. Let me start with, this device has set me free from commercials or, TV ads. I always knew that during a 2 hour TV movie I would endure a great deal of time on ads. Sometimes I would mute the ads to speak to someone else or do something in another part of the house so not all my time was watching these ads. But what I found with the PVR is I could now calculate how much time I was seeing, watching and/or hearing in a day, a week, a lifetime. It is mind boggling.

In a 2 hour movie it was 25 minutes. In a 30 minute TV series over a 5 day period which includes more commercials at the beginning and/or at the end of the show I found the aggregate time in ads was 40 minutes. Which means 150 minutes of TV watching was really only 110 minutes of what I wanted to watch. I came across a pdf url: tvturnoff that has an abundance of statistics and information on TV ad consumptions in the USA which I'm sure is not too different in Canada and I must admit they are alarming numbers. For example; Number of TV Commercials viewed by American children in a year is 40,000 and brand loyalty can be created in a child as early as 2. These are scary numbers for me because it shows the power these ads have over the minds of our children. Our children don't have built into their brain yet media filters that we have spent a lifetime developing.

The PVR Can Save Our Children. And perhaps change the way businesses advertise forever. How you may ask? Imagine this, a future, not too far away, where the PVR is in most households. And the PVR is used to stop ads from reaching our children through pre-recording and/or pause features that allow the user to fast forward "skip"the commercials. Now, you are a business owner who is spending 100's of thousands of dollars, maybe millions, on TV advertising but your market share continues to be eroded by the competition. The more you advertise or regardless of the ad you run the competition is still growing and your losing money fast. Guess what, your competition is on the internet. They have an online marketing strategy that spends maybe a quarter of what you spend on the TV and they are putting you out of business.

Every once in a while a new technological device comes around that seems harmless in the beginning, for example the TV in the early 1950's, the 386 desktop with windows and of course the internet in the early 1990's and these seemingly harmless introductions then launch an explosive growth that change the way we do business and the way we live our lives. The PVR, in my humble estimation, will change the way businesses advertise and spark a flash point in online internet marketing. In this new PVR world truer words were never spoken when, to paraphrase Bill Gates, prophesied that "there will be two kinds of businesses in the future, those on the internet and those out of business".

The PVR Can Save Our Children and if you are a business owner, let me leave you with a question; are you ready for this flash point in history and put your business online and are now marketing it online with a budget that gets you found and then converts visitors into customers? Just as you would not create a TV commercial by yourself in your basement nor should you create an online marketing presence by yourself from your basement. The PVR is here and it is going to change how we market our business. Remember that you heard it here first.

I Can't Talk Now, I'm Busy Sabotaging My Business

2007-06-28T10:06:00.000-04:00

As a follow up to my post Soaring With Eagles which asks the question; How do you keep yourself motivated:

Why is it that very smart people fail at business? To answer this question you could ask another series of questions; why do we light that next cigarette, why do we eat late at night, why do I drink and drive. The list goes on of the many self sabotaging things smart people do everyday. We are all guilty of doing things we know we should not do but do them regardless of the negative consequences. In many cases it is a question of a persons paradigm. In other words, how they see life.

Some people see life as a glass half full (optimistic) and others see that same glass as half empty (pessimistic). Many of us will have paradigm shifts from time to time but to succeed in business we need to be optimistic most times. Therefore, you must change your paradigm to that of an abundance mentality. There is plenty for everyone. You must, when the days in business are lean, (and you may have more of these days in the early years of your business), you must always reaffirm to yourself that you will succeed and nothing is going to stop me or get in my way.

What I'm talking about is the control of our thoughts. How we think has a direct connection to how we act. If we lose control of our car on the highway and stare at the guardrail we will hit the guardrail. If we stare in the direction we want to go our body reacts and steers accordingly to that direction. Don't under estimate the power of your mind. I believe strongly that if you have done everything physically neccessary to succeed, that is, studied from the masters and then executed on their sound business, sales and marketing strategies and techniques, surrounded yourself with good people then the only missing link is your thoughts.

Your thoughts create the power of attraction. If you are positive you will attract positive energy to you and as a result to your business. If you don't believe me try an experiment with the opposite (negativity) or remember the day recently when you were really upset and spent the day complaining to whom ever would listen. Did you experience some who were drawn into your complaining and complained along with you and that made you feel good? And did you also see some people steer clear of you and refuse to engage in a conversation with you of complaints? Like attracts like. Let me leave you with a tip, most successful people see the glass as half full. Those people who shied away from you when you were complaining are successful people or will be successful and you just alienated your best assets or allys. Imagine if they were your prospects or customers. Imagine if you continue with this negative paradigm how many customers you may not have.

You are smart, so stop the "I Can't Talk Now, I'm Busy Sabotaging My Business" attitude and change your paradigm to "Let's Talk Now, I'm Busy Being Positive For My Business".

Motivation Needs Interpretation

2007-06-26T14:53:00.000-04:00

Here is a Sales tip from Jonathan Weaver, Peak Performers. I love this tip on understanding not only your motivations but also the motivations of your prospect. It all leads back to the question every prospect is asking themself when they listen to your sales pitch, "What's In It For Me". As many of you know who read my post Who Do You Buy From? you know I started my career in Purchasing and I know better than most the motivations of the buyer or your prospect.

Jonathan Weaver's Sales Tip:
"Motivation can be defined as a concept used to describe the factors within an individual which arouse, maintain and channel behaviour towards a goal.
Another way to say this is that motivation is goal-directed behaviour.
If you want to be a true sales professional, you will want to study motivation from both sides of the transaction.
On your side of the transaction come to terms with the answer to WHY you'll do the following:
Do the necessary prospecting
Do the necessary homework on each account
Do necessary follow up
Study salesmanship and develop your skills rather than just work at it during the course of the day...
On the other side of the transaction, if you can understand the goals of the buyer you can meet their needs
Why are they meeting with you?
What benefit of ownership of your product / service are they most interested in?
What are they looking to avoid?
When you understand WHY you're working - What you're doing becomes easy! When you understand WHY your prospect wants to buy - Sales are faster and more profitable..."

College Versus Buying A Franchise

2007-06-25T09:54:00.000-04:00

I just read the following blog post from Sean Kelly "Wise up! Skip College. Buy A Franchise!" It is very humorous but also thought provoking. When you look at the franchise cost of the top 50 franchises in Entrepreneur Magazines top 500 you may just be further ahead to buy a franchise than go to college.

Let me know your thoughts?

Buying A Business - Ask These Simple Questions:

2007-06-22T14:12:00.000-04:00

Too often I see people in jobs making a living but not really living. I know people who make a great income but have no freedom to enjoy their income. I've heard some say I work to live and others say that they live to work. If you live to work then you have found a job you enjoy, that you have fun with and that is great.

If you are thinking about getting into a business for yourself ask yourself if you are buying job security or job satisfaction? In other words, a business you would enjoy? Yes you need to make a good income from the business so you can continue to enjoy the lifestyle you are accustom too but, will it bring you to a higher lifestyle that you may enjoy even more? Will it afford you the opportunity to enjoy your income with your family and friends? What lifestyle are you buying with this new business? One that ties you to the desk or a food preparation counter or, provides you freedom to make choices of when you work or not, take a vacation or not, take a few weeks vacation or only one week.

Too often we look at the numbers to make a decision before we buy a business which is a necessary decision step but, also too often we don't look at our happiness in the business.

Let me leave you not only with my questions posed above but also with a quote from someone I admire, me. :)

“With fun comes passion, with passion comes success”

How To Get "Mo"

2007-06-21T12:39:00.000-04:00

Here is something I just received from a colleague that speaks to motivation very simply and succinctly:

How to Get "Mo" by Steve Simms;

What makes you want to do what you do when you do it? That is the mystery of motivation. Motivation is the drive that impels a person to take action. It is an internal need that is satisfied by an external expression. When you experience something and you want to get some "mo" -- that is "mo"-tivation! The truly motivated person wants to take action to either get what he wants, or to avoid what he doesn't want.

"Success is more attitude than aptitude."Anonymous
There are three ways people can become motivated. The first is the K.I.T.A. method of motivation. (K.I.T.A. stands for "kick in the anatomy.") It is based on the fear of punishment. The K.I.T.A. method motivates people to move away from something painful or distasteful. It pushes them into action. An example of K.I.T.A. motivation is when the boss threatens to fire you unless you stop showing up late for work. The second motivation technique is the 4P's Principle. It uses praise, prestige, promotion, or paycheck to motivate people. The 4P's pull people toward something by promising a reward for taking action. An example of the 4P's Principle: "Bill, you are too good an employee to be late for work all the time. And when you show up on time for an entire month, I am going to give you a promotion and a raise. And I will announce it in the company newsletter!" The K.I.T.A. and the 4P's Principle methods of motivation both work, but they are not as effective as the third method. There is no special name for this one. It is just plain ole self-motivation. It involves finding a personal reason, deep inside yourself, to take action.
"...a dynamically motivated person is like an automobile - he is driven by his own power source from within!"
Most people go through life being pushed or pulled by outward circumstances. They do what they do in response to what happens to them. Like a billiard ball, they are bouncing off the rails of life or falling into the pockets -- all in response to the positive or negative cues of their outward environment! An effectively motivated person, however, is self-motivated! He or she is not like a wheelbarrow (being pushed) or a wagon (being pulled). Instead, a dynamically motivated person is like an automobile -- he is driven by his own power source from within!

'Majority Rules' Can Be Inappropriate Decision Making

2007-06-20T11:33:00.000-04:00

The following PowerPoint Presentation is something a friend sent me that makes you think at the end about how we make decisions. From an Entrepreneurs perspective, it made me think about how many times I made decisions in haste or solely on emotion which cost me money.

In business sometimes we battle with decisions that is best for the bottom line but sacrifices our ethics or perhaps our morals. I've always leaned toward my ethics and that has not generally failed me in the long run. However, watch this presentation and let me know your thoughts about how you make business decisions today?

Click here to watch the Presentation

Fathers Day, Daughters, And Golf

2007-06-17T20:42:00.000-04:00

This blog post is dedicated to my daughter. Brittany, who is 19, planned a fathers day that I will not forget. It was special to me for many reasons but mostly because it was important for her to demonstrate her love in a way she never could before now. In other words, she has some money in the bank that she earned and saved.

My fathers day gift began as a mystery. I was to be "kidnapped" at 9:00 am but first I had to wear my first gift, a Tommy Hilfiger golf shirt. She insisted I wear this with my golf shorts and running shoes. Now I'm thinking we are going golfing but she did very well at the denial. I hope that is not a family trait. As I'm rushed off in the car she continues her ruse of mystery and eventually we enter the parking lot of a local golf course. Upon arrival she informed me that my clubs are in the trunk, that my brother will be joining me (he was set up by his daughter in the same way), she gave me $20.00 spending money, a pen for the score card and a pin for my shirt that was like the the blue ribbon you award to the prize bull at the country fair that said; 'Worlds Greatest Dad'.

My brother was dressed in the same khaki shorts with his new blue Tommy Hilfiger shirt and prize ribbon. Our daughters took our picture together and sent us on our way for the day. As we came off the golf course they were there to pick us up and then continued the day treating us to dinner at a local franchise pub. At the pub they presented us with a framed picture wrapped nice and it was the two of us dressed alike from this morning. I should mention that the golf was great and many fathers were out with their wife and children. Golfing has truly become a family sport.

Our daughters were very proud to do this for us and I was moved and proud of them as I will always be proud of my daughter. My love and thanks to my daughter for the best fathers day so far. Don't tell her but, I miss the paper finger painted ties I use to get and I would be just as happy with that today.

Business Websites Can Make Or Break You

2007-06-16T14:30:00.000-04:00

Too often I visit business websites that have not changed their content since my last visit. On occasion, I see outdated contact information including office move addresses that have not been updated. These sites are certainly not effectively following my post challenge; "Put Yourself In Your Customers Shoes". If your website is guilty of these marketing offenses let me leave with you a piece of information and advice; most internet visitors, your potential customers, will make a decision to stay on your site or leave and never return within 3 seconds.

We hear more and more about Pay Per Click Advertising and essentially you don't have to be too smart to be on the top of a Search Engine like Google in their sponsored sites section. All you have to do is be the highest bid per click on key words and phrases and you will be on the top. BIG DEAL! First off you don't need to be on the top to be successful with Pay Per Click Advertising, second and third spots work just as well and in some cases better. The key here is that when you drive the online traffic to your site, what happens when they get there? Do you have your site updated with current information? Does your site allow for easy navigation? Does your site follow the 3 click rule and ensures that the visitor gets their information within 3 clicks from your landing page? Is your site easy to buy from online? Is your site Search Engine Optimize so you can move up the search engine organically and may then only need PPC for certain marketing campaigns, for example new product launches? I could go on with what your site needs to do and consistently but to properly execute on any of these ideas requires detailed web analytics. We know we can utilize free online reports like Google Analytics but do you know how to interpret the information into a sound online marketing strategy? Do you know how to use the reports to make business decisions? If the answer is no then you need a professional internet marketing consultant. Remember that when you have a visitor to your site who abandons your site within those 3 seconds that they in most cases never return to your web site.

Get smart and at a minimum, keep your contact and address information up to date or you stand to let your website abandons go to your competition. The decision to act or not act on the content and design of your website is yours, this decision could make or break you!

Sales Strategy Creates A Competitive Advantage

2007-06-15T12:11:00.000-04:00

The following article; Sales Strategy Creates A Competitive Advantage by Darrell Zarhorsky found on About.com is a great follow up to my post: Stop The Cold Calling Sweats.

He suggests the strategy that starts by identifying a segment of your target market and then searches out an industry problem. Once the problem is identified you create a solution that is not offered by your competition. This becomes your Unique Selling Proposition.

This makes calling for appointments with prospects and existing clients much easier as you have a solution to their problem.

American Airlines Moves 200,000 People Per Day

2007-06-09T09:52:00.001-04:00

I wanted to bring to the forefront again QR Codes or Qcodes (Mobile Picture Phone Readers) and encourage you to read the comments to my post; North American Marketers Are Xenophobic which speaks further to how this technology is entering the North American Market and starting with the Airline Industry is going to make checking in and getting an airline ticket much more easy and convenient. It appears there is a battle ensuing on which technology is better today and for the future. It comes down to which technology reads better on the picture phones and, with the HP Steered MC2 Consortium working toward creating a standard for the mobile phone industry, if your reader is not the standard you stand to lose billions of dollars in future sales.

Just imagine how quickly this will grow in North America when airlines adopt this technology built into mobile picture phones. American Airlines advertises now they move 200,000 people per day on their flights. Multiply this number by the number of Major Airlines and 365 days in a year and you start to see how fast the end user will adopt this method of phone reader for convenience of checking in and getting a flight ticket. Roll this out to hotels and the tourism industry and it is mind boggling how fast this can and will grow.

Is your business ready for this new technology?

Lawyers Profit From Our Due Dilligence

2007-06-08T13:46:00.000-04:00

I spoke yesterday about my friend starting a new business and seeking out my business experience advice and decided today that I want to add to that post with a typical entrepreneurial story regarding legal advice and their age old question; To use a lawyer or to not use a lawyer?

When we start a new small business we generally have most of our financial resources already in the business. Therefore, when trivial details like business contracts need to be signed a lawyers opinion and advice is generally sacrificed. I have signed many multi-million dollar contracts over the years and live by the opinion that every contract can be broken, it's just a matter of weighing the risks against the benefits as well as the level of probability (high or low) if and what damages would be incurred under various scenarios. So seeking out a legal opinion isn't something I would do in all cases. However, if you see high risk and many pitfalls in a contract then you must seek a third opinion and generally a lawyer is your best and safest bet. But remember that not all lawyers are experts in every aspect of business.

A lawyer (not all lawyers) will tell you yes I can help you with your contract evaluation and even negotiation but is really only interested in the hourly fee they can collect from you during the soon to be lengthy and protracted process. Your proper due diligence may become your lawyers next Goose that lays the Golden Eggs.

As is the case in most professions, the legal profession has specialists. Using a specialist in the evaluation of your business contract may save you money in the long run. Also, remember that theirs is a legal opinion and not necessarily a business opinion and should be only one of many opinions you receive. For example; you may have an opinion from your financial advisor, your accountant, your operations head, your sales department, etc. At some point the buck stops with you and you have to make a go or no go decision. And on occasion, it may be against the advice of your lawyer. That's just business. Anyway, back to how a specialist can save you money, a specialist who has seen similar contracts and clauses before can speak from experience and get right to the potential problem areas right away. They can also advise that the contract is a standard contract for this industry and advise of it's expressed and implied intent and then leave you to decide to go or no go on the execution of the agreement. An example of this is franchise agreements.

A typical franchisor - franchisee agreement is written to protect the franchisor. That is to say, to protect the existing franchisees and of course their investment. If you are considering a franchise then you want an agreement to be written this way. To protect you as a new franchisee. In fact, any franchisor who is prepared to re-write their agreement for you is really saying, no protection for you, we are only interested in your money. If you experience that kind of accommodating franchisor you should turn and run away as fast as you can. They are after your wallet and you are about to be mugged. In this franchise example, if you are speaking to a contract lawyer but not someone who specializes in franchise law then you will get a lawyer who will charge you by the hour to get the franchisor to re-write the agreement to be more fair to you and if the good franchisor is not prepared to re-write their agreement then you are just throwing your money to the lawyer in the form of a golden egg. A specialist in franchise law will recognize a standard franchise agreement, highlight the meaning of particular clauses to you and then generally say, it's a standard franchise agreement, do you want to do the business or not? If you do then sign the agreement. In this scenario, the legal specialist just saved you a great deal of money.

Don't let the lawyers profit from your due diligence.

Learn From The Seasoned Professional

2007-06-07T17:50:00.000-04:00

I met with a friend and his business partner today who both started another new company earlier this year and who wanted to pick my brain to discover potential growing pain problems before they pounce on them and they are not prepared. This is a smart business practice for anyone considering getting into business and also while you continue to grow your business. This is called the 'Pile theory'. Look for the person with the biggest pile of money in your business sector or in business generally and then pick their brain on how they achieved their great success.

We sat for 2 hours discussing business mergers, acquisitions, licensing agreements and pay structures for new employees. They have a great opportunity and are on the verge of exploding in the next few months and certainly in their first year. The biggest piece of advice I gave them, beyond some specific answers to specific questions, was think big and grow big. They will be a $15 million business in the next 3 years and will also enjoy significant profit margins. The challenge is that if you are not prepared for this quick growth you may also experience a quick fall.

Think big and grow big suggests that you must strategize, plan, (which they have done and is still evolving), and then implement business policies and procedures around a unified business image. This requires a focused attention on your core competency and then communicated to all staff to be executed properly. You need to ask questions like; how do we want other business to see us? When someone asks; what do you think of those guys, that business, what response do you want from not only your customers but also your prospects? How do you want to treat your customers? Selling on price only or building long term relationships which creates customer loyalty? What benefit can you provide to your customers that they are NOT getting now from your competition? When you can answer all these questions then create a business mandate and mission statement to be promoted and communicated to your employees, your prospects, and your customers.

That's it for today, back to my move and unpacking boxes.

Moving Homes; Need Two Crews

2007-05-30T11:38:00.000-04:00

I have been spending the last three months packing and planning the move into our new home and all was going well. Then days before the move people started backing out or offering only a few hours to help with our move. In a normal move this is not generally a problem because if you are like me I always have more help than I actually need. But this time we did something different. We went with what we thought would be a less stressful move. We rented a trailer (U-Move) from AMJ Campbell which I still believe is a great concept at a great price but remember this; you will need two crews to move your home.

The idea was that we would have the trailer dropped off at our present home on early Thursday morning and then take our time loading all day and into the evening if needed. The next morning, Friday, AMJ would pick up the trailer and deliver it to our new home. Then we would have all Friday to unload. Sounds very doable and less stressful than having to load a truck and be out by 1:00 pm and based on my previous experiences, unloading the truck late into night. And there have been many moves over the years as we spent the 80's and 90's buying and selling homes to build equity quicker.

However, in the U-Move scenario not everyone, in fact nobody, could do both days. This meant two crews. As they started dropping like flies, filling the crews up again and doing some juggling to ensure I had an appropriate amount of muscle on each day was a challenge. We did it, we hope, and all that remains to be seen is the move itself.

The U-Move is a great idea, just think more about doing it over a weekend.

Wish me luck and I will be back on my Blog next week.

SEO - Put Yourself In Your Customers Shoes

2007-05-29T12:23:00.000-04:00

Too often I see websites that are marketing to their customers in the words that they believe makes sense to the customer. In other words, they are not asking themselves how would the customer ask the question when searching for our product or service. For example;

An Airline Company website promotes Low Fares and what the
customer is searching for on the internet is Cheap Flights. In a one month study I saw at a recent SEO seminar I attended that compared both of these two keyword/phrases, searches done online during September of 2006, Low Fares had 629 searches and Cheap Flights
had over 1,500,000.

I learned the 6 Steps of building a Successful SEO strategy and how to keep from being black listed by the Search Engines. Yes, they have rules and if you break them they will stop crawling you up their pages. The most significant thing to remember is that Google and Yahoo are always changing their algorithms and you need to be on top of these changes to move up to the top of the searches and to stay at the top. Right now, for example, Google is cleaning house of any and all web sites that are nothing more than an Advertising or "Spam" site. The biggest component of your site that moves you up the page rankings is Content, Content, and Content. So make sure your site is loaded with great and lots of content. Down loadable white papers, frequently updated articles, press release and links to blogs are huge.

This was a 2 day seminar so I can't give you everything I learned but what I can tell you is if you are not using an internet marketing professional or consultant who has the latest and up to date SEO information at any given time then you are probably not being found on the internet. Seek professional advice and do it right...'Put Yourself In The Customers Shoes'.

Family Support

2007-05-28T13:25:00.000-04:00

If you are considering business ownership ask yourself if this is your dream and everyone else is just along for the ride or, you share your dream with your spouse. If you are single and young you have your life ahead of you and risk is minimized by the attitude that every failure makes us stronger. When you are older and have to support a family, business ownership becomes a greater risk. To minimize this risk you need the support of your spouse.

He or she should be an active partner in the research into your future business opportunity. They don't necessarily have to be a working partner in the business but if you are planning on spending your family nest egg then they need to go into this with their eyes open. In fact, in Canada, if you are applying for a business loan or line of credit for your business your spouse will be expected to get an ILA (Independent legal Advice). This is a form to be completed and signed that she has spoken to her own lawyer who explained the consequences if you fail to meet your debt obligations. This is less frightening if he or she has been involved in the research from the beginning with you and has agreed to this new business in advance of meeting with the lawyer.

The biggest advantage of having your spouse be involved early in your research of a business is that they always see and hear different things than you see and hear. As a result, different questions are asked and of course answered giving you a deeper perspective on your buying decision.

When you both come to the same conclusion and move forward with the business you generally have a great back up and positive support person in your corner making sure you see everything on a frequent basis and can be there to boost your morale and celebrate your victories. Remember that if you both came to the same conclusion this becomes your spouses dream and passion as well, even if it is only to see you happy, successful, and proud for your family.

Family support in business is powerful if it is done correctly.

"I Am Canadian Blogroll"

2007-05-27T16:25:00.000-04:00

I am proud to be Canadian with many friends and readers from around the world. To help further the success of other Canadian Bloggers I have added my blog, Entrepreneurs Seek Advice, to the "I Am Canadian Blogroll". Thanks to Tricia for her instructions found at her blog; Tricia's Musings and, for helping me get this properly set up on my blog. Great work Tricia and we appreciate your efforts and time required to manage this with the intent to keep it current with active blogs that are also civil in nature.

I see from some of the comments Tricia has received about this blogroll that we are the envy of others from other countries. Always glad to be part of the leading edge of innovation and creativity.

My QR Code

2007-05-26T13:16:00.000-04:00

I wrote about the Xenophobic North American Marketer and QR Codes and I was pleasantly surprised to find that Kaywa - Feed2Mobile had created a QR Code for a feed from my blog. If you have a QR Code Reader on your mobile phone you can now scan my blog code. Let's promote this more and more as this is a great idea waiting for it's entry into the North American Marketing.

Entrepreneurs Seek Advice Mobile Feed - QR Code