Secret Shopping

Secret Shopping
Secret shopping sounds mysterious and fun and well,
shopping is great no matter what. Secret shopping in its
basic form is shopping someone or someplace without the
person or business knowing it. Shopping secretly seems to
draw on this fantasy of part detective, part spy, and part
shopaholic. In the best scenario you receive your "mission"
and then go to the location and pretend to be a real
customer all while noticing all the things going on around
you. Some secret shopping companies will have the shopper
actually purchase something so that the whole shopping
encounter seems more realistic. If you search the words,
"secret shopping" on the Internet you will get over 4
million hits on websites that have something to do with
secret shopping.

There are all types of secret shopping businesses out
there. There are businesses, corporations and large chains
that have their own department or group of people that
travel around and try to shop the stores. Sometimes this is
part of the internal security team that helps reduce
shrinkage or loss prevention specialists. Then there are
the companies and stores that will choose to hire a secret
shopping company who specializes in secret shopping that
specific industry.

Some of the things that in person secret shops might
uncover are:

How many customers in the store when entering?

Did anyone greet you when entering the store or how long
did it take for someone to greet you after walking in the
door?

Was the store neat and clean?

Did anyone offer to help you find an item or offer to help
you?

Was the associate dressed appropriately?

Was the bathroom clean?

Was the associate using their time wisely?

Did an associate offer to get you a shopping bag, shopping
cart, or basket or to start a dressing room for you?

Did the associate let you know of any specials or
promotions going on in the store

Was it easy to navigate through the store?

How long did you have to wait to check out?

Was the cashier friendly?

Were your items rang in correctly?

Did the associate offer to open a store credit account?

Did the cashier thank you for coming in?

These are just a few questions that a secret shopper might
have to fill out when doing a report on how the shop went.
Of course depending on the company, different key areas
would be listed and other items of interest that would be
specific to that company. Besides a person going into a
store and shopping them, some companies are having their
shoppers wired for sound and or video. While a person can
go to a place and shop and come up with their opinions,
sound and video are hard to ignore. Often sound and video
are used in extreme circumstances where sound and video
would implicate a person or business of a wrongdoing.

There is a show on television right now that shows all
kinds of hidden video of stealing, people acting stupid,
intoxicated, fighting, driving recklessly, and more. It
just goes to show you what people will watch on television.
But is proves a powerful tool for incrimination or
reprimanding employees.

What kind of business would use a secret shopping service?
Lots of businesses use a secret shopping service whether it
is an internal monitoring or hired out by a company that
specializes in secret shopping. Corporate businesses would
use a secret shopping service to make sure that the
individual franchise or store is keeping up with the
company's rules and regulations. While some franchises are
individually owned they still have to sign a contract with
the home office that they will uphold the standards,
appearances, and make sure that all the stores are
virtually the same. Smaller businesses might use a secret
shopping service for a number of things like monitoring,
training, compliance, or incentive based information.
Monitoring is just that, a basic service that gives the
manager or owner a simple description of the secret shop.
On going training is essential to any business so companies
can use secret shopping to help with continued training.
Compliance goes a little further with specific areas of
sales, customer service, safety, and rules being covered.
Incentive based secret shopping is when the person or
business being shopped and that said person or business
doing a great job would get a reward. The reward could be
monetary, time off, bonus, lunch, or other items that the
owner or manager will choose.

Some companies choose to do telephone secret shopping
instead of or in addition to the in person secret shop.
Telephone secret shopping uses the same principles as above
except the whole interaction is done over the telephone.
Modern software and telephone equipment have made this type
of secret shopping easier and more secretive. But with
technology comes the backlash of trying to be secretive,
the arch nemesis of the telephone secret shopping world,
caller id. There are ways around caller id and they will
not be shared in this essay, but if you need to bypass a
caller id there are systems that can do it, just check out
the Internet. So the basic telephone secret shops goes like
this:

Store-"Hi, thanks for calling XYZ business, this is Bob,
how can I help you today?"
Shopper- "Hello Bob, I was wondering if you could give me
some information about your...."
Store- "Sure, I can help you with that. You see here at XYZ
business we have..."

You can see where this is going.

The telephone secret shop is typically recorded to an audio
system or to the Internet where the call can be retrieved
at a later date. Different software systems allow the
secret shopping calls to be listened to online in real time
or saved and sent via email when the audio format is in
MP3. This software also allows its user to edit the call.
Trimming the call in the beginning before the rings start
and after both parties have hung up allow the call to
remain in a manageable length. Some companies record the
call and then send it to their clients on a CD. The CD
allows the manager or owner to listen and share the call
with the employee.

Are you looking for a secret shopping job? There are many
established secret shopping companies out there that are
looking for shoppers, but how do you know which ones to
trust. First of all, like the old saying goes, "if it
sounds to good to be true, then it probably is" so don't
fall for all the Internet hype about secret shopping. Could
you in reality find a reputable secret shopping company and
make some money, yes, if you do your homework. This is such
a serious issue that the Federal Trade Commission has
advice on how to avoid being scammed by fake secret
shopping companies. Here is some advice on how to avoid
bogus secret shopping companies:

Do your homework; check out the company BEFORE you give
them any personal information

Beware of catchy banners and click me sites that offer to
hire secret shoppers off of the Internet. This is a "sounds
too good to be true" situation.

Check with the Better Business Bureau about background
information on the company before you jump in with both
feet.

Many fake secret shopping sites want you to complete
"offers" before you are assigned any jobs. These offers are
actually ways for that site to gather information about you
like your name and email. Offers like; try these magazines
or a free trial offer for who knows what, and all you have
to give them is your information and sometimes a credit
card number. These sites are known to sell or use your
email to spam sites that will then riddle your inbox with
tons of junk email.

If you know someone who is a secret shopper ask them how
they got into the business and I bet they will have some
advice of their own to share.

It's not as easy as it seems, there is often some travel
involved and reports have to be written in detail, called
in, typed or emailed for you to be able to get paid per job.

So if you are looking for a secret shopping company or a
secret shopping job, the bottom line is check the company
out before doing business with them. Ask for business
references (and call them, just giving a sheet a references
won't do you any good if you don't call them), check with
the better business bureau and ask around. The time you
spend doing your homework before you hire or look for a
secret shopping job will pay off in the end. There are some
great secret shopping companies out there that offer secret
shopping services and your business will prosper from the
knowledge and training that a reputable secret shopping
business can provide for you.

----------------------------------------------------
Secret Shopping
http://directory.selfstorageowner.com/

Psssst... Sales Reps LeaveTheir Jobs For More Money!

Psssst... Sales Reps LeaveTheir Jobs For More Money!
When I first started in sales recruiting I cold called
CEO's of major company's everyday until they either
accepted a meeting with me or handed me down the line to
someone else. One day one of those cold calls paid off and
I ended up meeting with a newly appointed VP of HR for a
$2.5 billion company.

At one point in the meeting he asked me why happy,
successful sales reps left for new sales jobs. Being very
well read and up on the industry news, I started to recite
the results of a poll I had just read about this very
topic. I said something to the effect of, "sales reps
leave because they feel no respect from their bosses, they
want more recognition, they want greater challenges in
their sales jobs, they want more vacation, more flexible
hours so they can be with their families."

I went on and on with this malarkey that I quite frankly
didn't believe but thought was the right thing to say.

He stopped me and said, "Steve, sales reps leave for new
sales jobs for one thing and thing only. They want more
money!"

We wrapped up the meeting. It went well - I ended up with
the account and helped them recruit on average of a sales
rep a week for quite some time.

But the one thing I learned from that meeting was more
important than any number of successful searches that I
could ever complete.

I learned then and there to never say anything but what I
felt to be the truth.

That said - I just read a post at The Recruiting Edge -
one of my fellow recruiting industry blogs.

The post has survey results listed that appear to be taken
from a survey completed by Careerbuilder. The results of
this survey seems to be more in line with what I hear and
see from sales professionals.

Here it is as clipped from the site The Recruiting Edge:

8 Hiring Trends For 2008

EIGHT MAJOR TRENDS FOR 2008

#1 Bigger Paychecks

(here's more info on this point as it was broken down at
http://biz.yahoo.com)

56 percent of employers expect to increase salaries on
initial offers to new employees, up from 59 percent in 2007

#2 More Flexible Work Arrangements

#3 Screening Candidates via the Internet

#4 Rehiring Retirees

#5 Diversity Recruitment

#6 Freelance or Contract Hiring

#7 More Comprehensive Healthcare Benefits and Special Perks

#8 Career Advancement

Hey, I'm no fortune teller, but it was common sense years
ago that people went to work to make money. I'm just glad
CareerBuilder decided to let us all know.

----------------------------------------------------
More sales recruiting information and resources can be
found at the sales rep recruiter blog (link below). The
author, Steve Crothers, has been a sales recruiter since
1993, working with companies ranging from start-ups to
multi-national Fortune 50 corporations and helping them
recruit and retain sales professionals, sales managers
through VP Sales. Search current positions or contact Steve
at http://www.salesreprecruiter.com

Shredders - A Great Buyer's Guide

Shredders - A Great Buyer's Guide
Shredding confidential and sensitive documents is an
important activity for businesses of all sizes and all
households.

The rise of identity theft and fraud means that it is more
important than ever to shred your confidential waste
effectively and to invest in a shredder that you can rely
on to shred your sensitive waste to a secure level.

Shredders are also available to dispose securely of your
multimedia and CD waste. The purchase of a multimedia
shredder could prove invaluable to your business, if your
workforce regularly need to download sensitive and
confidential information to disc and then find a way to
dispose of it safely and securely.

Shredders are graded according to how securely they shred
your confidential paper and multimedia waste. Consumers
should seek to purchase a shredder from a reputable
supplier who lists the shredding security level of their
machines to ensure they are purchasing the most suitable
shredding for their requirements.

A shredder's DIN level indicates the level of shredding
security the machine provides. There are currently six
levels within the DIN scale, which begins with Level 1, as
being suitable for documents of low level security and the
disposal of general waste.

Level 2 works at a slightly more secure level, with both
Levels 1 and 2 shredding waste into long strips through
machines known as strip cut shredders. Level 3 shredders
can be either strip cut or cross cut shredders and are
ideal for shredding a range of confidential documents.

Levels 4 to 6 of shredding security are only available via
cross cut shredders and are for the specialised disposal of
commercially sensitive, classified and top secret
documents. DIN Level 6 is currently the highest available
level of shredding machine grade and is backed by the U.S
government for the disposal of the most sensitive and
confidential documents.

The DIN shredder grading levels are not currently
established as an industry standard in the UK, so consumers
are strongly advised to approach shredding machine dealers
who already operate the DIN grading system to be assured of
purchasing a suitably secure shredder for their needs. The
DIN standard originated in Germany, where DIN stands for
Deutsches Institut fűr Normung (German Institute for
Standardisation), which is the equivalent of the British
Standards Institute (BSI).

Cross cut shredders are ideal for the office environment,
as they shred to a more secure level than strip cut
shredders and also reduce the shredded bulk of paper your
documents create to roughly a quarter of the volume of
shredded waste generated by a strip cut shredder.

Leading brands of shredder include Acco Rexel, Dahle, EBA,
Fellowes, GBC, HSM, IDEAL, Intimus, Kobra, Martin Yale and
Schleicher. All leading shredding machine manufacturers
offer a range of machines to suit differing requirements,
including the shredding of multimedia waste. Shredders can
come in a variety of sizes to suit different environments
and needs, including deskside shredders, small office
shredders, large office shredders, heavy duty paper
shredders, commercial shredders, automatic shredders, and
high security shredders.

The variety of materials that can be shredded securely by
differing levels of machine include paper, cardboard, CDs,
DVDs, multimedia items, A3 and large size paper. When
purchasing a shredder it makes good sense to evaluate your
secure waste disposal needs and then approach a quality
supplier, who can guide you towards the right shredder for
your requirements.

Well-designed shredders are highly safe machines and some
of the leading manufacturers offer a range of security
features as standard on many of their shredding machines,
including Fellowes - who feature a heat-sensing device on
some shredders designed to sense when a body part is too
near the shredder's throat and cease operation of the
shredder immediately.

The Mercury range of shredders from Acco Rexel are fitted
with patented Anti-Jam Technology, whereby a machine's
paper entry area is illuminated with a green light when the
shredder is operating correctly and a red light when too
much paper has been inserted into the shredder for it to
operate safely or effectively.

When researching the purchase of a shredder for your office
or home, it is important to determine the level of
shredding security and capacity you require to suit your
needs. Questions to ask during this process include: What
documents will you need to shred? How often will you need
to use your shredder? How many users will access your
shredder regularly? How securely do you need to shred your
documents? Do you regularly need to securely dispose of
sensitive multimedia waste, such as CDs? How fast do you
need your shredder to be? How frequently will you use your
shredder on a daily basis? How much room do you have to
house your new shredding machine?

With identity theft and fraud rising year-on-year, it is
essential to make the right choice when investing in a
piece of shredding equipment. If you consider the sensitive
waste your workplace produces to be highly confidential,
then investment in a suitable high level shredder will be
an investment you will never regret.

Providing a well-designed and easy to operate shredder for
your colleagues and staff, alongside outlining a clear
company policy for shredding documents, will enable
everyone to participate in consistent housekeeping
procedures within your company and keep sensitive company
information safe and secure.

----------------------------------------------------
You can learn even more about the wide selection of
shredders available to you. Simply visit:
http://www.abt-shredders.co.uk/ to browser through their
massive range of well-priced shredding machines.

Include Team Members In Setting Goals for the Year

Include Team Members In Setting Goals for the Year
Ah yes, the new year. That time when, regardless of past
failures and disappointments, we hopefully make promises to
ourselves and great plans for the next twelve months. We do
this at home, and we also do it at work. As managers, we
spend many hours planning our strategy for the department
and what it should achieve during the year. But do we
include our team members in setting goals for the year?
Usually not.

That's a great pity, because when it comes to implementing
our great plans, all members of the team, all employees,
all staff members, everyone must play a part. Oh sure, you
are excited --- after all, they're your plans. But how
enthusiastic is everyone else? Can you really expect them
to share your enthusiasm and commitment if they had no
opportunity to share the vision, no part in creating the
strategy, no chance to add their ideas and insights?

How difficult would it be to include team members in
setting goals for the year? Not very. All it takes is the
will to do it and a few logistical arrangements. Here's a
suggested plan of action:

1. Let everyone know about the new process. If you are a
department head or team leader, and if it is logistically
feasible, do this in a group meeting. Otherwise, arrange a
telephone conference. Either method is better than an
e-mail broadcast, because you want to send a message right
away that this is a "human" process and not just another
layer of bureaucracy. This first communication could
include a summary of the past year's achievements and
challenges, and how these affect plans for next year. Then
offer a very broad statement of what you hope to achieve in
the next twelve months, one that allows for lots of ideas
and input on how this can be done.

2. Allow time for people to think about the subject and
develop their ideas.

3. Set up a strategy session, preferably with everyone in
the same room. This meeting should be facilitated in a way
that allows people to voice their ideas and opinions but
does not intimidate. Their ideas may be accepted, postponed
or rejected, but never ridiculed. Everyone should be
treated with respect and appreciated for their input. The
World Cafe process is ideal for this part of the plan, and
can bring out deep, clear and unexpected insights that can
make your strategy come alive.

4. Using the information from the session, create a
strategic plan as well as the tactical plans need to bring
it to fruition. This process MUST be completed as quickly
as possible, and no later than two weeks after the meeting,
in order to capitalize on the team spirit created. Any
delay will dilute the positive effects and create an
impression that nothing has changed.

5. Provide everyone with a copy of the plan documents, with
a reminder of their commitments to follow through (this
commitment will be part of the World Cafe process).

6. Set up a mechanism for ongoing group monitoring,
allowing for necessary course corrections as appropriate
throughout the year, based on what is actually happening.
This should culminate with a year-end look back at the
plans and implementations, which automatically sets the
stage for next year's goal setting process.

Include team members in setting goals for the year,
communicate with them appropriately and honestly about the
goals at all stages, and prepare to be amazed at the
positive results that can be achieved.

----------------------------------------------------
Helen Wilkie is a professional keynote speaker and workshop
leader specializing in workplace communication. If you'd
like to have her facilitate a World Cafe for your
organization, e-mail her at hwilkie@mhwcom.com For more
information on her services, or to subscribe to her free
e-zine, "Communi-keys", visit http://www.mhwcom.com

21st Century Recruitment - Choosing the right jobsite!

21st Century Recruitment - Choosing the right jobsite!
In this second article in the series we take a look at
recruitment utilising jobsites, A quick search on Google
for the word "jobsite" instantly gives you 451000 search
results, so where do you begin? Like so many things word of
mouth can seem a good place to start, unfortunately
everyone involved in recruiting staff has a favourite
jobsite and they unlikely to tell you that the one they are
currently paying for does not give value for money as it
would make them look a fool for having chosen to buy the
jobsites services in the first place.

Before beginning your search there are a few basic
questions to ask yourself and to make this process easier
to explain I am going to use an example. I am seeking to
hire a sales manager for a bank, so I now go to Google and
search for banking sales jobs to see which sites such a
jobseeker would come across first, the site currently
holding the number one spot is .

Great so I have now found the best site to use it must get
the largest number of candidates visiting it; well perhaps
we should investigate the site further to see how it is
going to help us find that top flight sales manager for our
bank. First I do a search on the site for sales manager
banking in the UK and get 104 vacancies in the results,
although not one is for a major retail bank, this might
just put off my candidate, but before we give up we will
delve a little further. Now we look for the page of
services for recruiters, The information for recruiters
page gives me some information on the services available
and yet gives me no information on prices, all I am offered
is contact forms, a phone umber in the USA and some
testimonials that are anonymous, there is no demographic
information as to how many visitors the site receives or
any evidence that supports how effective the site is.

I now go to the post a job page and find I am offered the
option of paying online and that a single advert for the UK
market will cost me a staggering $985 which even with the
historic high of sterling against the dollar is very
expensive and I have been given no evidence as to what kind
of result I should expect for my money. Ask for a free
trial as well as some evidence of the likelihood of success
in filling your sales job before using this site or any
other site that gives so little information or evidence up
front,

In the next article in the series we take a look at a
jobsite that has been designed to maximise the utility of
both sales jobseekers and sales recruiters and to offer
excellent value for money,

----------------------------------------------------
Louise G is a highly experienced sales recruitment
professional with over 20 years experience in all areas of
sales recruitment and is currently Sales and Marketing
Director of The sales Recruitment Jobsite.
Find out more about The Sales Recruitment Jobsite the place
for sales jobs and sales recruiters all around the globe at
http://salesrecruitmentjobsiteblog.blogspot.com or go to
the new site http://www.salesrecruitmentjobsite.com

The History of Baume et Mercier

The History of Baume et Mercier
Personality, elegance and precision is what has classified
Baume et Mercier watches since its beginning in 1830.
After more than 170 years of creative and distinguishable
watch making, the company continues to modernize its
watches and appeal to the public. Every year there are a
plethora of stylish watches available for men and women
with several different models to choose from.

It all started when Louis Victor and Pierre-Joseph-Celestin
Baume found the "Freres Baume" trading entity in the Les
Bois Village in 1830, which lies within the Swiss Jura
Mountains. From there a dynasty took off among this family
that had already been making watches for several years.

In 1834, members of the Baume family founded the Societe
Baume Feres in Le Bois. At first the family targeted
enameled pocket watches, but it soon branched off into a
large company with great diversity. In 1844, Joseph
Celestin Baume traveled to England to set up business
relations. It was this trip that helped diversify the
company and spread their watches across Europe. Soon
after, watches signed "Waterloo," "Diviko" and "Sirdar"
opened markets in Australia and New Zealand.

In the early 1880's the second generation of the family
headed the company into more modernized watches.
Louis-Victor's son, Alcide Eugene headed the Swiss firm
while Alcide's brother, Arthur Joseph was managing the
London branch. Their elegance and precision was rewarded
in 1893 as their watches won the timing competitions at the
Kew- Teddington Observatory. The watches scored 91.3 out
of 100 possible.

The turn of the century saw new and exciting things for the
company beginning in 1912. It was in 1912 that William
Baume met the watchmaker and jeweler Paul Mercier at the
Geneva watch and jewelry shop in Haas. This meeting
between the two would eventually lead to a signing for the
establishment of Baume and Mercier in Geneva on November
26, 1918.

The agreement amongst the two proved to be an extremely
smart and successful one in years to come. Just three
years later in 1921 the company was rewarded again, this
time by the coveted Poincon de Geneve, which was the
official recognition of flawless quality products.

After World War II the company shifted its focus to
conventional men's watches, chronographs and ladies'
jewelry watches. In 1965 the Piaget family took control
over Baume et Mercier outbidding international competition
and that same year the new owners switched to electronic
tuning fork movements.

Currently, Baume et Mercier just opened a store in
Switzerland in 2004 and has made a name for itself as a
trendsetter. Continuous production and modernization in
watches such as the Riviera, which was released in 1980,
has kept the company alive and strong over 170 years later.

----------------------------------------------------
To obtain information about the beauty and elegance of
owning a Baume et Mercier Watch visit our Baume et Mercier
Watches section
(http://www.watchesonnet.com/Baume-et-Mercier.html). For
information on Patrick Bedford or to browse our large watch
section visit Watches On Net (http://www.watchesonnet.com )

Self Storage Advertising

Self Storage Advertising
We are bombarded with an incalculable number of
advertisements on any given day. Think about it; just on
your drive to work you'll hear radio commercials for car
dealerships, local events, restaurants, furniture stores,
shopping centers, radio sponsors and more. You'll see
billboards, bumper stickers, company vehicles, semi-trucks
and moving trucks that all display company logos and
phrases. And don't forget about the billboards. So, it may
seem that advertising for your self storage facility is
like casting your net in a huge ocean and hoping to come
back up with something.

On the contrary, a well organized marketing plan will lead
you to the exact point at which to cast your net. Marketing
centers around the research you should conduct within your
industry. You should determine your demographic, or target
customer. Then you should consider the economy in which
your business is located. After thorough marketing, where
to place your advertisements will come more naturally.

Advertising is the end result of a good marketing plan.
Still, self storage advertising seems to be an illusive
science. Many self storage operators can't quite get the
right concoction of phone book ads, billboards, flyers,
etc. In addition, they wonder which of their advertisements
works the best and which ones aren't doing so well for them.

Because advertising budgets usually don't allow you to
plaster your business name on every street corner, every
search engine, every mailbox, and each radio commercial, a
self storage owner has to know where he gets the biggest
bang for his buck.

A simple way to find out how your customers heard about you
is to ask them. Train your facility managers to ask
customers, "How did you hear about us?"

You should keep in mind that it isn't useful to have your
managers asking that questions unless you provide them a
way to track each response. Give your facility managers a
spreadsheet or tracking system so that all the data
gathered can be evaluated and reports can later be
generated in order to determine what ads bring the largest
ROI. Something as simple as a piece of paper with a column
for Yellow Pages, Internet, Billboard, Radio, etc so that
the manager can tick a mark for the appropriate column will
offer effective tracking.

The self storage owner should collect the sheet monthly and
stay on top of his marketing and advertising campaign. He
can analyze the data to determine what media to which he
should allocate more of his budget.

You should also caution your facility managers not to turn
a simple question into an interrogation. Some self storage
facilities have their managers go so far ask to ask which
page number of the phone book it was that they saw the ad.
While collecting the data is valuable, it is not intended
to supersede the goal of talking with a customer- to gain a
new tenant. Asking such pinpointed questions as the page
number of the phone book, or time of day when they heard
the radio ad could distract the conversation. The focus of
talking to customers should be about meeting their needs,
not your own marketing needs.

If you desire such in depth research, you should hire an
expert in the field. Self storage managers wear many hats;
however, research and development should not be one of them.

Whether you hire a professional or use your own expertise
to determine your customer demographic, knowing who your
customers are is key to an effective advertisement.

Research will allow you to know where your customers come
from. Self storage customers typically result from several
universal, common life circumstances that lead to the need
for storage. Some of these events are due to a move or
remodeling a home, military service, campus or apartment
living, and/or divorce, to name a few.

If you find that a good portion of your customers are due
to relocating or moving to a new home then your advertising
dollars should go towards areas that this kind of customer
would frequent. For example, advertising near home
improvement stores will attract customers that are moving
or remodeling a home. Advertising in the newspaper near the
Classified ads where a home seller or buyer will look is a
great way to draw attention to your services. Online
advertising with realtor websites and other relocation
services will also impress customers to rent with you.

There couldn't be a more noble reason to need self storage
than serving your country. Advertising near military bases
will pay off when our country's men and women are
transferred, relocated or deployed. Many self storage
operators advertise a military discount, which is an
excellent way to thank the men and women in the service.

Students drive the busy season of self storage as they move
from campus to apartments and back home with Mom and Dad.
It would be a mistake not to advertise in every opportunity
campus life presents. The possibilities for advertising to
students goes as far as your imagination will take you.
From flyers to brightly painted cars to raffles and more,
advertising for near campus will bring an exponential
return on your investment because students need self
storage at least twice per year.

Apartment living often presents opportunities for tenants
to store. Tenants never have enough closet space, so self
storage becomes a necessity as families grow. Consider your
demographic and aim your advertisements to the average age
of the apartment community. For example, apartment
communities housing a majority of college students require
advertising for discounted rates or short term storage for
the summer, while apartment communities for young families
may do better by highlighting the convenient location and
security. Senior living communities should point out the
security and care heirloom items will receive while in
storage.

Families grieving the loss of a loved one can become
overwhelmed by the daunting task of shuffling through
inherited items. In many cases, families inherit more
furniture than their current homes allow. Or perhaps they
want to store their old furniture to make room for the
antiques they recently acquired. Advertising aimed at
individuals going through such a painful circumstance
should be approached with the utmost respect and dignity.

Self storage advertising attracts a wide demographic of
customers with methods such as television advertising,
radio announcements, direct mail, door hangers, fliers,
phone book ads and billboards.

Television is an effective way to target a variety of
customers while standing out among your competitors.
National broadcasting would be overkill for storage
facilities grouped in localized areas. Local broadcasting
is less expensive and reaches your target group. A
television broadcast should last from 30 to 60 seconds.
Effective TV budgets for storage advertising ranges from
$5,000 to $10,000 per month. There will also be some
production cost which can be great or small, depending on
the choices you make for the broadcast. This is an
excellent tool for bringing in 50 to 100 new customers per
month. A self storage owner should know the value of each
of his customers and therefore can easily justify a budget
for TV advertising. A self storage business could also
consider sponsoring local events or newscasts to receive
additional advertising.

Radio advertising for a self storage business is purchased
similar to TV advertising. However, radio broadcasts are
less expensive than television. Production is usually free.
To be effective, radio advertising should be broadcasted
during morning and evening drive times. When self storage
businesses combine TV and radio advertising, they both
become more effective. A self storage facility or company
could also sponsor radio traffic reports and weather
reports in exchange for advertisement.

Direct mail can produce excellent results, if purchased
correctly. It should be purchased in bulk and works best
with high saturation. You can count on about .1 percent
response on your mailing. The cost should be approximately
3 cents per piece.

Professionally designed door hangers have proven to be a
successful means of self storage advertising. Having a
professional design the hanger will ensure the best
results. You should also use quality material that will
withstand outside elements. A laminated 3-by-9 inch, full
color hanger with a perforated card at the bottom is the
best way to make a good impression on customers. Door
hangers cost around 20 cents each and can be purchased in
variables of quantities.

Fliers are a great advertising option for self storage
owners. Colored fliers can be distributed to realtors,
competition, attorneys, insurance companies, auto
dealerships, etc and have shown successful results.

Phone book ads are the most common and effective tools used
for self storage advertising. Over eighty percent of all
customers use the Yellow Pages to contact your storage
business. This means that your competitor will have his ad
somewhere close to yours. The phone book isn't a new idea
and everyone knows they need some sort of advertisement
here.

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Self Storage Advertising
http://directory.selfstorageowner.com/

Seven Ways to Supercharge your Strategic Planning Process

Seven Ways to Supercharge your Strategic Planning Process
At this time of year, many companies look to the future and
put together a Strategic Plan and/or a Business Plan for
the coming year(s). For many, this has become a matter of
looking at the last plan and changing the numbers to match
new goals. If this is your process, you're missing a huge
opportunity to build the strategic thinking and planning
capability of your organization.

Whether you have a team of two, twenty, two hundred or two
thousand plus, the strategic planning process provides
multiple opportunities to develop employees and positively
impact the bottom line. Here are a few suggestions of how
to supercharge your strategic planning process and make it
a vital part of your organization's success.

Create Pre-Planning Teams

Charter a team of three or four people to do advance
research on industry trends, internal and external factors
that will likely affect the future of your company in both
positive and negative ways. Build time early in your
agenda for a presentation from the team. This not only
saves time in your planning session but gives those on the
advance team an opportunity to think and learn from the
research.

Charter a Stakeholder Audit Team. The size of this team
will depend on how many stakeholders you identify. A
stakeholder is a person or entity that has a "stake" in
your success as a company. Stakeholders might include
customers, suppliers, community leaders, etc. The job of
this team is to interview these key individuals to get
their input about what they need from your organization
and/or how you might work more effectively together. This
team will need to summarize and analyze the data they
collect and bring it back to the planning team for use in
the actual planning session.

Be sure to include some of your high potential non-managers
on these teams so they are exposed to the process and have
the opportunity to think at a higher level than their job
usually demands.

Include Bargaining Unit Leaders and HR

If you work with a bargaining unit, include them in the
process. Many items become easier to negotiate when Union
leaders understand the big picture and the challenges the
organization is facing. Also, Union leaders bring the
viewpoint of your employees to the table in a unique way
that can be very helpful in designing the "people"
initiatives you will need to be successful.

Make sure to invite your Human Resources Director/Manager
to the table. Many companies put together a strategic plan
with multiple "people" strategies without the input of the
HR Department. Since most of these strategies will fall to
the HR Department for implementation or at least major
support, it's in everyone's best interest to incorporate
their ideas as well as making sure the strategies are
implemented "as intended."

Use an Outside Facilitator

This can either be from another part of your organization
or an outside consultant. Either way, your focus should be
on the actual strategic thinking and planning. Executives
who try to facilitate their own strategic plans are like
doctors who try to treat themselves. It's not the best use
of your professional expertise. A trained facilitator will
bring out the best in each of those participating in the
process, including the leader!!

Include a Communications Professional in the Process

You will want the document you create to be a tool that is
used throughout the year. A professional can help you
simplify difficult concepts, communicate concisely and
format for utility. Remember, the major purpose of the
document you distribute to employees is to engage them in
the goals of the organization.

Distribute a Copy of the Plan to Each Employee

Make sure your first line Supervisors understand the major
components of your plan and, more importantly, how they
will contribute to reaching the goals of the plan. Then,
have them distribute copies of the plan. Research shows
that employees trust the Supervisor that they know more
than upper management. So, roll out the plan but give your
Supervisors the info they need to explain it.

Keep the Plan Alive Throughout the Year

Include regular updates on progress toward strategic goals
in your organization's communication channels. Bring the
planning team back together once a quarter to review the
plan and track progress. Showcase teams or individuals who
are directly impacting the success of the plan in company
communication vehicles. Most importantly, celebrate
milestones reached along the way.

Use the Plan

If your copy of your company's strategic plan doesn't have
dog-eared pages and coffee stains by mid-year, you're not
getting the most out of the plan. As a leader, those you
interact with should be so used to seeing you with a copy
of your plan that they notice when you don't mention it.
And, since you are their leader, you will begin to notice
that they are bringing up company goals, milestones and
impacts on a more regular basis as well. This is the power
of the plan. It has the potential to engage people at
every level of your organization in striving to meet
company goals.

You may be thinking, this is fine for larger companies but
I'm an Entrepreneur and/or my company consists of only a
few people. How will this work for me? It will actually
work very well if you think about all those who have a
"stake" in your business and engage them in the process.
Ask associates, your Mastermind Group, or key individuals
you respect from the networking organizations you belong to
for their help in building your plan. That way you will
not only build a plan, you will build relationships that
energize your success.

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About Gayla Hodges
Gayla Hodges is the President Change Agents, Inc., a
company that specializes in energizing workforces to
achieve strategic goals. She coaches executives and
managers on leading corporate change, facilitating the
development and implementation of organizational
effectiveness strategies. For more information, visit
http://www.changeagentsinc.com or call 623-362-3876.