Categories
People & Relationships

Influencing and Reinforcing the Behavior You Want in Employees and Customers

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This article is contributed by R.L. Fielding who writes regularly for Dittman Incentive Marketing.

“If only I could get people to do what I want them to do…”

How often have you thought that … or said that? And how often has the answer eluded you?

We’d love to think that employees will do the right thing and that customers will make the right choice, but since only a segment of your employees are motivated to do what you need them to do, and only some of your prospects have become customers (while the others remain only prospects), the question is … how can you get the rest of the people to see the light?

The answer lies in the “Zone of Self-Interest.” People will do the things you want if they perceive it to be clearly in their own best self-interest. And when that perception exists, you’ll be well on your way to exceeding your business goals.

Here’s How It Works

No matter what you need to accomplish, you can put a price tag on it. Some things lead to greater sales and others to lower costs. And as soon as you put a value on it, employee and customer loyalty rewards programs can help you accomplish it.

The approach is simple, and it’s proven to work. Identify a simple activity that you know to be key to your success and calculate the dollar value to you when it’s accomplished to your satisfaction…then reward it every single time it occurs. Every single time.

Every time a program participant does what you want done, he or she earns points (based on the value you’ve calculated). The points are redeemable for desirable merchandise, exotic travel, or other options. On a real-time basis, every participant can view a custom, personal statement, which details the credits and/or debits made to his/her account and the current account balance.

The Implication for You

The concept of the Zone of Self-Interest revolutionized the airline industry, then most other consumer businesses. Think about your own behavior and how it’s affected by the opportunity to earn free trips or hotel nights or merchandise for providing a seller with conscious loyalty. The rewards fall into your Zone of Self-Interest, and it motivates you to do something you normally wouldn’t do … and do it frequently.

Success breeds success. Unlike many programs that start with fireworks and finish with a fizzle, behavior reinforcement programs grow in effectiveness. With each passing day, the motivation power strengthens, and the bond between you and your program participants deepens. Simply put, a well-built behavior reinforcement program will produce more incremental revenue than it costs.

About Dittman Incentive Marketing

This article was provided by Dittman Incentive Marketing (http://www.dittmanincentives.com/), a quality leader in the field of people performance improvement. Since 1976, Dittman has helped companies achieve critical corporate goals via original, one-of-a-kind employee and customer loyalty rewards programs that inspire a sales force to sell more, customers to buy more, and others to do more.

R.L. Fielding Bio

R.L. Fielding is a freelance writer who has written on a wide variety of topics, with special expertise in the education, pharmaceutical and healthcare, financial service and manufacturing industries.

Categories
Entrepreneurs

10 Tips for Student-Entrpreneurs

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Dorm Room Biz: Money. It’s what every college student wants and what every college student lacks. You can save up all summer and it is sure to be gone by Thanksgiving. Or, more likely, Columbus Day weekend. There are tons of ways students can earn money online and keep up with the trust fund kids. Here a few:
1. Teach the computer illiterate. Do you know your way around a computer better than you do your school’s library? Branch out your services to those who think a click of the mouse means their vermin troubles are gone.
2. Help others set up their computers. Many people have computers but often incorrectly install their new machines or aren’t aware of the upgrades their systems offer. It can also be as easy as making sure they’ve got everything plugged into the right outlets.
3. Join the blogosphere. Does everyone tell you have great ideas? Or maybe just you think you have great ideas. Either way start your own blog and if you’ve got something to say that people want to hear then the advertisers will be eager to be seen on your site.
4. Create and update webpage designs. Every company now wants to and needs to be on the web hocking its wares. If you’ve got experience creating webpages then your services will be in high demand.
5. Join an online auction. eBay is the place on the web to sell anything from your prized possessions if you’re really in a bind or maybe old baseball cards for some extra cash.
6. Help others join the digital music age. The old record collection doesn’t have to lie in dusty heap anymore and, if you have the little equipment needed, you can help transfer these old classics to a digital library.
7. Clean up computer messes. Computers are constantly being ground to screeching halts by viruses and spyware these days. Computer users are eager for help cleaning up their systems.
8. Scour the internet for lost records. Scan the internet for background checks for employers or track down old classmates for clients.
9. Sell the next hot .com name. Selling domain names may sound passé as it seems all the good ones are taken, but with new .tv or .info domains emerging the possibilities are endless.
10. Be a photographer. With digital photos taking the place of the old family scrapbook, computer savvy individuals are in high demand to help computer illiterates in this new direction.
10 Best Ways for College Students to Make Money Online [Dorm Room Biz]

Categories
Finance & Capital

8 Easily Avoidable Causes of Business Debt

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Bankaholic: Entrepreneurs are the brave souls who make our economy go, or at least they were when our economy was actually going anywhere. Especially in this currently questionable financial climate, starting your own business is undeniably a dicey proposition. Start-ups go out of business all the time, often before they even have a chance to even really star up at all. The main culprit in the savage slaughter of these young establishments is the same perpetrator behind the bulk of our fiscal difficulties: Debt.
As an emerging entrepreneur, it is very easy to quickly accumulate debts that are substantial enough to kill your burgeoning business before it even gets off the ground. But it does not have to be that way. Take the time to examine your business workflow and you will likely discover a number of extraneous costs that can be eliminated to improve the health of your bottom line.
Here are eight common practices that lead to common results; learn to avoid them and you will be uncommonly successful.
1. Not sticking to the necessities.
As good a place to start as any, this is an all-encompassing, catch-all principle. Be a good bootstrapper by spending money only on what is absolutely necessary to operate your business.
2. Trying to do too much too soon.
If you jump the gun and attempt to launch too many projects at the same time, your limited capital will severely limit the time and budget that can be devoted to each distinct venture.
3. Not designing for scalability.
There is little worse than achieving initial success only to be undermined by your initial lack of vision and poor preparation. If your business design cannot be scaled up when you hit it big then you may be forced to absorb all sorts of unexpected expenses as you are attempting to redesign from scratch.
4. Failing to delegate.
Always remember, you’re the big idea man; don’t spend your time performing tasks that could be done just as well by a cheap hired hand.
5. Buying in bulk.
If you are starting a small business, don’t worry about having a year’s supply of copy paper on hand the first day that you hang up your shingle. You will have all sorts of expenses in the early stages of your start-up and you will need all of the ready cash you can keep your hands on.
6. Paying your bills late.
Whenever possible, meet your expenses with the cash that you have one hand. Rack up big bills on that shiny new business credit card and you could end up putting as much money towards accumulated interest and late fees as you are towards growing your business.
7. Throwing away your receipts.
It is difficult for many entrepreneurs to learn to separate their business expenses from their personal expenses, and this can end up costing a new business owner thousands of dollars in lost tax deductions. Be fastidious about saving your receipts and you will be in much better shape come tax time.
8. Failing to collect accounts receivable.
Sure you want to be the nice guy as you are starting your new business, but you need to make sure that you get paid as well. With the available tools for notifying clients of payments that are due, there is no excuse for not being on top of your accounts.
8 Easily Avoidable Causes of Business Debt [Bankaholic]

Categories
Entrepreneurs

Tax Deductions: One Way to Minimize Self Employment Taxes

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The US Tax Code can be pretty rough on the self employed. It often seems to be written to favor big corporations over small and solo businesses. The rules are often complex and confusing for the average self employed individual to grasp, even with the help of an accountant. And that first paycheck can be a shock when you realize how much of it is eaten up by self employment taxes!

Even when tax breaks are available, figuring out if you qualify and then having all the right paperwork in place may make those deductions seem like they aren’t worth the hassle! For instance, if you have a home business, i.e. you work out of your house, you may be able to deduct for a ” home office” — but the requirements are strict, and can be a trigger for an unwelcome audit. Mileage reimbursement is a little more straightforward, until you realize you have to write down every trip, its’ length, who you met with and what you talked about! And not many new business owners even remember to keep track of startup expenses, much less understand how depreciation works, without the help of a good accountant.

There is one tax provision, however, that is clearly worth the trouble: a Section 105 Medical Reimbursement Plan. This can save you, quite literally, thousands of dollars a year. You must be married and able to legitimately employ your spouse at least part-time in your business in order to qualify. If you are and you can, read on — your heartburn over outrageous health insurance premiums and skyrocketing medical expenses may be about to go away!

Here’s the bottom line: with the requirements met and the proper paperwork in place, you can:

  • Deduct 100% of your family health insurance premiums
  • Deduct 100% uninsured family medical and dental expenses
  • Save a huge chunk in federal, state, and self employment taxes!

How do you qualify? You must have a properly documented employment agreement with your spouse, and the work performed and salary must be reasonable. Complete records of the premiums and expenses and their reimbursement are required. Ugh, more paperwork…but help is on the way!

I’ve been very impressed with the BizPlan/AgriPlan Section 105 Medical Reimbursement Plan, offered by TASC (Total Administrative Services Corporation). Recommended by a colleague (who saves several thousand dollars every year with this plan), I’ve found TASC to be a very professional company that takes its obligations to its self employed customers very seriously, including offering a tax audit guarantee. And the annual cost is very reasonable, starting at under $200.

Don’t wait — you can only deduct expenses that occur in or after the month you apply for the plan. Consult your accountant, and check out BizPlan today, for maximum tax savings this year!

Categories
Home-Based Business

Is It Possible To Work From Home?

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Have you ever wished that you could work from home? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 19 million people worked from home (either part-time or full-time) in 2001. It’s a growing trend in our society with the number steadily rising as many people are leaving the workplace in favor of a work-at-home career.

There are four main ways to make working from home possible:

1. Telecommute for your current employer
Many employers are beginning to see the benefits of allowing their employees to work from home. If you have a job that would be possible to do from home ask your employer to consider it. More and more employers are allowing employees to telecommute. This is an easy way to work from home while maintaining the security of a stable career. You must realize, though, that working from home may limit you in terms of advancing in your company. It’s important to think through the sacrifices that you may need to make in your situation to work from home.

2. Telecommute as an independent contractor
There are many companies that hire independent contractors to do work such as data entry, transcription and customer service from home.

This can be an incredible opportunity as long as you’re willing to keep track of your own taxes and aren’t relying on the employer for insurance and other perks

There are many benefits to the company also, such as lower wages, not needing to provide insurance, or being able to offer a commission based position. The company may also choose to hire home workers so that they do not need to pay for space to house an office full of employees.

3. Own a direct sales/MLM home-based business
Many times these types of home-based businesses are overlooked, but they truly can bring an income and allow you to work from home. However, doing your research before joining a company is very important. Look for representatives of the company to speak with and, if possible, try to find someone who has been a representative for the company, but is no longer. They may be able to share some of the negative aspects of the business with you.

Also check with the Better Business Bureau and make sure that the company that you are considering has a good reputation. You can also go to websites such as CWAHM.com and sign up to speak with current work at home moms (CWAHD.com for dads) who can answer your questions about owning a home-based direct sales/MLM business.

4. Begin your own home-based business
It can seem overwhelming to start your own business, but if you start small and have a good business plan it can be a very rewarding decision. You are able to be your own boss, have a very flexible schedule and work only when it is convenient for you.
When considering beginning your own business, make sure that you have found a niche that will allow you to serve customers that no one else is serving. When I began searching for a way to work from home, I spent time researching the different work at home websites available and realized that there was not a place for Christians to network and help one another work from home. I filled this niche with my website, CWAHM.com, and the response has been amazing. If you take your time and find a niche or unique product, you will have a much higher chance at success.

If you decide to begin your own business, you must also check your state and city about zoning laws, licensure requirements, etc. Contact an accountant to find out what percentage of sales you need to set aside for taxes as well as whether or not you’ll need to make quarterly tax payments.

Working from home is a big commitment and it can take some time to get started. It’s important to take the time to research what type of at-home position will work best for you. If you would like to telecommute, speak with your employer to see if it is a possibility. If you are looking into a home-based business, speak with others from the company or find a niche that you can fill with your own business.

Working from home can be a rewarding choice and it IS possible.