Month: June 2008

Categories
People & Relationships

The High Cost of the Law of Unintended Consequences

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For four years I did a conference where I invited business owners to tell us what they right in their business. We picked the top 12 stories and these successful business owners were given an opportunity to tell their story to up to 300 conference attendees.

While promoting the last conference, I sent faxed invitations to business owners who I thought would enjoy the positive press and would be interested in promoting their company to 300 people.

Several asked that I remove them from the list and I did so.

Four of them engaged a lawyer and filed a law suit.

Apparently there is a law that says you cannot fax someone unless you have written permission. This puzzled me especially since the names and fax numbers came from a public list I acquired from Reference USA.

The law states you cannot sell a product or service via fax without written permission (there is more but that is the highlight).

Since the fax I sent invited the business owner to a networking event where we could talk with them about their story and the role the conference would play in helping them grow their business, we were not in violation of the law.

The Cleveland based lawyer filed the lawsuit for a Cleveland based heating and air conditioning company. Apparently this lawyer files lawsuits when people receive an unwanted fax. As I talked with people about this lawsuit, I learned I was not the only one he has extorted money from. His reputation is less than stellar.

I am sure this lawsuit was not the intent of the fax law and our law makers really should fix this law to prevent this abuse.
According to my lawyer, the lawsuit is “legalized extortion” but his suggested was to settle the suit because of the cost of going to court and the difficulty in counter-suing.

It cost a lot of money and time to run this conference to promote good news in NEO. It cost a lot of money in legal fees to settle this law suit.

It is hard to plead “not guilty” when I clearly broke the law – even though I did not know the law existed. Sometimes we try to do something positive and it backfires. The backfire is what I call the law of unintended consequences.

There are two lessons to be learned: 1. Continue trying to do good but have a good lawyer. If you need a good lawyer let me know (email only please), I have more experience than I care to admit and I would be willing to share the names of the people who helped me.

Asking a question to your lawyer before is always easier that dealing with a suit after the fact. 2. It doesn’t say much about our business owners if they cannot pick up the phone and ask to be taken of the list. To file a stupid and frivolous lawsuit to raise money is the ultimate in stupidity. The business owners who filed suit should be taken to the woodshed. It took a while to get my PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) back but I did. The essence of the second lesson is to trust your lawyer and stop worrying. Worrying does no good. All the sleep I lost did not change the outcome of the suit. Not counting legal fees the total settlement was for $750.

I will not reveal this company in this post and I suspect he has more problems that receiving a fax he does not want. He apparently has little regard for his business or his business reputation to get involved in this nonsense. The other four who had their name on this lawsuit did not do their business a favor.

I was bummed for a while about this law suit. I am over it now but I am saddened that our business community has to waste time, energy and money over something this stupid.

Check out the long term consequences with a group of trusted advisors. After all, many minds and many experiences are far more effective in the decision making process than any single mind or experience.

Categories
Sales & Marketing

Market Your Business Smart And Cheaply

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BusinessKnowHow: Most, if not all, small businesses are built on a budget. Available funds must be used to buy technology, additional phone lines and marketing materials such as business cards. In this article you will find ten low cost or no cost tips that will help you get your first customer and build your business.
1) Obtain free or low cost business cards at a company such as www.VistaPrint.com.
2) Have a new or rebuilt shopping center opening in your town? Attend the grand opening and chat with the business owners and staff and hand out your free or low cost business cards.
3) Create flyers with your phone number on tear off tabs and place them at the library, grocery store, coffee shops, etc.
4) Hold a contest. People love freebies.
5) Write an article that would appeal to your target audience such as small business owners, add a four to five line biography with your e-mail address and web site address.
6) Create an informative presentation around your topic area and contact your local Chamber of Commerce and offer to speak at a monthly meeting.
7) Create coupons offering a free or discounted product or a free hour of service for every two or three hours of paid service.
8) Use the time you spend sitting in traffic to gain new clients. For less than thirty dollars you can purchase a sign for your car from www.iprint.com or www.webdecal.com.
9) Create a press release announcing the opening of your business or some other milestone event. Send the press release to editors at your local newspaper and to other free area publications.
10) Ask for referrals. Give your business card to your family members, neighbors, hair salon, etc. and ask that they pass them on.
Top Ten Frugal Ways to Market Your Small Business [BusinessKnowHow]

Categories
Success Attitude

Do You Have The Courage To Be An Extraordinary Leader?

pernille.jpgAt a recent networking meeting, I had the opportunity to hear Pernille Spiers-Lopez speak.

Danish born, Pernille immigrated to the United States about 26 years ago as a young woman. After a few jobs that didn’t pan out for her, she found herself working in the Marketplace at Ikea, an international home furnishings retail chain originating from Sweden. Rising quickly through the company, Pernille was vaulted to becomePresident of Ikea North America in 1997. An innovator and change advocate, she shared that her rise to success and personal life satisfaction was tremendously aided by her commitment to her spiritual and personal growth journey.

I had the privilege to be seated at her table with a small group and immediately recognized a kindred spirit. While she delivered her speech, I sat there and grinned as she echoed many of the things I continually talk and write about.

Here are the keys to success she spoke about:

1. Know your values – what you stand for. Live your life in alignment with your values so that you are being true to who you are.

2. Grow yourself as a person; invest in yourself and your people. As a result of changes she initiated at Ikea that were employee supportive, the chain has shown increases in profits and employee retention. Personally, she credits her own consciousness journey as adding more joy and peace to her life as well as helping her to be an effective leader.

3. Be courageous. As President of Ikea, she initiated multiple company changes that dramatically increased employee retention including: addressing flexibility needs, creating a “quiet room” for nursing mothers, and substantially increasing the number of women and minorities in management She spoke quite a bit about being willing to trust herself in her choices and actions. Knowing who she is gives her courage to make the tough and easier decisions as a leader, wife and mother with compassion and strength.

4. Surround yourself with good people. In addition to building a strong workforce, she mentioned her participation in two business groups gives her additional support in being successful.

5. Embrace innovation and change. She sees possibilities and improvement in the experience of change to be inviting rather than fearing the unknown. Attitude affects how we view things – as a positive or a negative; compelling or repelling. With all of the positive innovations she has initiated at work, she commented with a small laugh that her teams have asked her not to make any more big changes this year. Her pride in what she has accomplished as a leader at Ikea was evident.

6. Be passionate. What makes you feel the most alive, calls to your heart, and brings you the most joy? She acknowledged how her passion fuels her courage and willingness to show up.

7. Take a stand for what you believe in no matter if it’s an unpopular position or meets resistance. Trust in yourself and inner knowing without wavering when you feel solidly clear about something you believe in. Hold onto that power without giving it away to others. Her passion and trust in her instincts and abilities empowers her to stand strong as a leader. She stated she is not afraid to stand up for her values and fight for what she believes is right.

8. Set personal and business boundaries. With her busy schedule, Pernille clearly states that when she’s at work, she is fully focused on the demands of her job. She works 8-5, has no Blackberry, and turns her cell phone off when she’s at home. What keeps her strong is listening to her body and her intuition while having strong work-life balance boundaries. She’s learned to separate her work and home life so that she can be fully present to what matters most in her life.

Categories
Entrepreneurs

Just Do It May Be The Right!

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OnStartups: Chances are, if you’re reading this article, you are either involved in a startup already, or looking to be involved in one.
This article is for the folks in the latter category, the “wannabepreneurs”. The ones that have always wanted to be entrepreneurs, but haven’t quite gotten around to it. The folks still slogging it away in BigCo land waiting for the “right” entrepreneurial opportunity to come along.
Here’s my advice: Stop Waiting!
If you’ve got a passion for startups, you need to be in a startup. Either run with the best idea you have and start your own thing (even if the idea sort of sucks), or join the best people you know that are already doing something. Just get out of the daily slog that is most big businesses. Scratch that itch.
Be an entrepreneur, not a wannabepreneur.
Here are a few quick points to help convince you:
1. You’re probably overestimating the risk of leaving that BigCo job. Chances are, that sort of job (or something awfully similar) will be there a year from now if things go miserably.
2. Though nothing compares to doing your own thing, joining a startup team is not bad either. It’s a great way to dip your toes in the water. Often, half the battle is just getting out of your comfort zone and being around startup people.
3. Regardless of what your risk tolerance is, you can likely still find opportunities that are more entrepreneurial than what you’re doing now. There are startups with really high risk, with nothing but a dream and a developer (or two) all the way to startups that have raised several rounds of funding and are on the IPO path. You should be able to find a startup that meets your risk profile.
4. Unless you have some compelling evidence that things are going to get easier later to do something more entrepreneurial, chances are, they’re not (going to get easier). So, if the question is when, not if, then ask yourself “why not sooner, rather than later?”
5. For those that are thinking: “Yeah, this is all easy for you to say, you’re not walking in my shoes”, I say this: You’re right. If you truly don’t have the situation or circumstances to take the leap, that’s ok. I just implore you to at least think about it and decide for yourself whether your obstacles are real or perceived.
I’ll close with a quote that’s been on my list of favorites for a while:
“Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.” -Sydney Harris
Taking The Leap: Don’t Just Be A Wannabepreneur [OnStartups]

Categories
Sales & Marketing

Recession Proof Your Sales

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A tale of two companies
The contrast couldn’t be sharper.
Company T had lost it’s direction and was sinking fast. Where sales were once $18M, they ultimately plunged to less than $6M. Where they once set the standard in their industry for customer service, now they were the joke of the town.
Company C was a different breed. It had always been the small respected underdog. At $6M is was a third of company T’s size. Where everyone else in the industry had lost over half their business, they were holding fast and had doubled their customer base. They were poised to exit the recession as a dominant player.
Why was company C thriving in the recession while company T (and the rest of the industry) foundered? They had a strong sales focus. They seized the chance to grow market share. They saw the opportunity to eliminate several bottom feeders that constantly drug down prices.
7 Keys to selling during a recession

  1. Go back to basics
    When things start spinning out of control it is time to reevaluate. What does a good coach work on when his team is slumping? He goes back to basics.
    It isn’t exciting, but think back to your early days when you were learning sales.Take a deep breath, step back, and look at sales 101.
  2. Focus on the customer
    Business starts and ends with your customer. Identify his needs. This becomes the basis for your products/services. No, that doesn’t mean you give away the store. It just means that every aspect of your business needs to support your customer. Anything else is a waste of time and money.
    Most businesses focus on their systems and expense control. Their criteria for all decisions is making their own jobs easier. Guess what…the customer doesn’t care!
  3. Focus on your niche
    This is not the time to try new techniques, find new markets, or launch new products. That is a desperate act that just wastes your time and money. If anything you should actually focus your resources on your top products, services, and markets. Remember, jack of all trades, master of none.
    Take a minute and define your focus. What is your niche market? What are their needs? What are you doing now to service them? What could you do better? How can you dominate your niche and grow your market share?
  4. Increase your sales budget
    Contrary to what your operations manager says you can’t cut your way to a profit. Business starts and ends with the customer. Yes you need to tighten your belt. Expense control is important. Just be smart where you spend your money. Ask the question “will it grow my business?”
    Increase your sales expense budget. Spend more on strategic lunches. Give your top salesman a bonus. Reward your sales support team. Thank your top customers for their loyalty and send them a gift.
    Compare this to what your competition is doing. Right now they are reigning in their salesman. In fact, they probably just fired a few! You stand out and can take market share if you are smart.
  5. Dump the deadbeats
    Fire the bottom 20% of your customers. I can hear the screaming now. “We can’t afford to lose any more business.” This is bunk. These customers take 80% of your time for 20% of the income. Cut them loose and spend your resources on customers you can satisfy!
  6. Guard your customer base
    Right now everyone is hungry. They are eying your customers like a starving wolf eyes a young lamb. Take care of your customer. Give them such value and service that they wouldn’t dream of going elsewhere. Build deep relationships with the key decision makers-remember that the buying decision is emotional. Logic is used to justify the decision.
    Make a list you your customers and rank them. Focus your time and energy on your stars.
  7. Branch out to new accounts
    The flip side of guarding your customers is to go on the attack. Remember that your competition is cutting back on spending. They have let a few salesmen go. The remaining salesmen are overloaded and overworked.
    Make a customer wish list. Look at the competition and identify their top customers to target.

BrandtSmithPhoto.jpgBrandt Smith is a sales, marketing, public speaking, and professional development expert. Learn about achieving wealth and life balance through entrepreneurship at Wealth and Wisdom, where he is cofounder and senior editor. Their advice on wealth building, personal development, and life balance can help take you to the next level. You can also read more of his thoughts on his blog.