Does your company regard its staff as a commodity, information as a currency, and operate on a need-to know basis? If so, you may be missing one of the primary advantages of Human Resources – good ideas. Some of the best ideas can come from your own people. These include problem solving, creative approaches, and [...]
Hire the Old Guy
The Inexperienced Often Agree on the Wrong Path
Does your company suffer from the “not invented here” syndrome? Many companies believe all the answers must originate from within. In fact, most good business principles have been in existence for a long time. Don’t waste valuable time and money expecting your people to come up with all the right answers. They can actually ignore [...]
The Easiest Way to Lose your Customer
Right After you make the First Sale
If you think all you’re selling is a product, think again. In order to continue to do business with your new buyer, you must also sell a service. The demand for customer service increases significantly after the first sale is made. That’s when your customer sees if you stand behind your products, and how you [...]
The 8 Principles of Successful Outsourcing
Outsource Everything but Quality, Sales and Customer Service
For the most part, there is usually no shortage of products. There is, however, a big shortage of Purchase Orders. Why tie up precious dollars in bricks and mortar when you really need to spend them on marketing and merchandising? It’s possible, and in many cases preferable, to outsource as much production and services as [...]
Follow Up or Foul Up
10 Ways to Get Results
Today most people are so busy they shudder at anything new coming across their desks. If they can say no, get back to you later, or send you to someone else, they can get back to whatever they were doing before you “interrupted” them. Here are 10 ways to get results in an overworked and [...]
Straight Up
The Fastest Way Out of the Box
When you look at the earth from space, or even your city from an airplane, you can’t help but think how relatively small we really are in the scheme of things. Imagine if your office chair was able to blast off slowly like rocket at Cape Canaveral. As you slowly ascend you see your business [...]
Is Your Company Doing these Things?
The 10 Big “No-No’s”
Recently, while attending a Wine Industry Symposium, I had the good fortune to sit next to a fellow consultant, James J. Downes of BBK, an international business advisory firm. Over lunch, the conversation quickly got down to what we each thought were the biggest mistakes growing businesses make today. Jim’s list sounded strangely familiar because [...]
Does Your Company Culture Give Rise to Great Ideas?
The 4 Pillars of a Positive Company Culture
Some people think “culture” is what you get in your yogurt. So called “company culture” starts from the top and permeates throughout your organization. The attitudes, principles, philosophies and values of owners like you and your managers shape the decisions, actions, and motivation of your employees. The morale of your people and the impressions of [...]
How to Build a Brand Without Advertising
The 7 Steps of Worthy Cause Marketing
Brand recognition is the life blood of any product that passes through distribution channels. Building your brand to the point of significant market share takes years, and conventional advertising can be financially infeasible, especially for new product manufacturers. In today’s world, the public demands transparency. Your customers want to know what your company stands for [...]
What Does Your Brand Stand For?
Give Your Brand a Soul.
Brands that stand for more than just their products have a huge advantage in this era of increasing transparency. It’s not enough to have the best product at the most popular price any more, and excellent customer service is only the beginning. Now, more than ever, people realize that they can vote with their money. [...]
