How To Stand Out At A Trade Show

How To Stand Out At A Trade Show
Think of the last time you were on the midway at a state
fair. Every booth was brightly colored, full of interesting
things to see, do, and win. Hawkers yelled: "Step right
up!", "Three tries for a dollar!", "Win a stuffed bunny for
the lovely lady!" Lights flashed, kids ran around, and
everyone seemed to be talking at once.

A trade show is like the midway at the state fair.

There may not be quite so many stuffed bunnies at a
business trade show, but the level of noise and distraction
is just about the same. There are lots of other businesses
competing for your customers' attention, all with product
demonstrations, service information, and free giveaways. On
top of that, there may be speakers, new technologies to
play with, raffles, food booths, and networking
opportunities.

How do you make sure that your company doesn't get lost or
overlooked in all the noise and commotion?

And how can you make sure that your (not-small) investment
of time and money will pay off for your company? That you
won't end up sitting alone in your booth for hours, wishing
that someone would stop in and talk to you?

The answer is in the pre-show preparation.

If you're setting up a display at a trade show, you have to
do more than just pay for a booth space, put on a nice
outfit that morning, and walk in the door for your company
to get real results. You have to think about how you'll cut
through all the "noise" to get in touch with your target
audience.

What do you have to do to prepare?

1. Create a strategy. Saying "I want to go to this trade
show and get customers" is fine, but that's every vendor's
goal. You need to create a real, measurable goal for the
show before you even sign up.

Ask yourself things like: Why am I here? Am I promoting a
particular product or new service? Am I trying to grow into
a particular target market? How many people do I want to
connect with? What types of people do I want to talk to?

Then, check the show you're thinking of against these
goals. You'll want to make sure that enough people will be
there, that they're in your target audience, and that you
have a reasonable expectation of getting a good return on
your investment.

2. Determine the one (or two) things you really need to
tell people about. The people you meet at the trade show
will be distracted. They'll be tired (or soon-to-be tired).
They may be far from home. Their feet will probably hurt,
and their arms will be full of promotional trinkets,
brochures, and paper they're planning to recycle just as
soon as they can find a bin.

These are definitely not ideal conditions under which to
meet new prospects. Don't freak them out further by trying
to tell them everything you can do for them and every
detail of your offer.

Decide before the show what might be most appealing to the
show's attendees—you should be able to get demographic
information about them from the show's organizers when you
sign up. Then plan your strategy and marketing materials
for the show around promoting that one aspect of your
offerings.

3. Set the stage for follow-up. You probably won't make a
big-ticket sale at a trade show. You'll be lucky to make a
small-ticket sale unless you're selling products, but even
then, it can be hard to get prospects' attention long
enough for them to pull out their credit cards.

Instead of aiming for an immediate sale, set up a system to
get your visitors' contact information and follow up with
them later. This may be as easy as a fishbowl drawing for a
prize with a disclaimer that all entrants will be
subscribed to your email newsletter. Or you could offer
short free consultations to those who sign up. You could
also give away an article or report to be emailed to
visitors after the show.

Any of these systems is inexpensive, gives you a way to get
visitors' emails and/or phone numbers, and provides you
with an excuse to follow up later to talk about your
product or service—when your prospect is less distracted
and overwhelmed.

4. Consider a promotional item. You may need to give out a
promotional item to get trade-show zombie-people into your
booth. If you do, then make sure it stands out—that it's
not just another pen or mini candy bar.

Standing out doesn't mean that an item needs to be
expensive. Some of the best and most sought-after items
I've seen at trade shows have included hand-held paper fans
(it can get hot in convention halls), massage lotion to
soothe tired feet later that evening, and good-quality bags
to hold all the "stuff" people tend to accumulate at these
events.

Just make sure that whatever you give away has some value
to your booth visitor and makes sense for your business.
That way, it will be less likely to be thrown out after the
show and more likely to make you memorable.

5. Wrap it all up with your booth design. There will be
visual chaos at the show. The lighting will probably be
less-than-ideal. So you'll want to design graphics and
signs for your booth that are easy to see, easy to read,
not too busy, and that reinforce your brand.

Your first step is to ask the organizers if you need to
bring a table and booth structure or if one is provided. If
you need to bring one, be sure to source supplies and make
delivery arrangements well in advance. If one is supplied,
ask about attaching signs, banners, and graphics to the
structure. Ask if materials to hang them will be provided
and if there are restrictions on attaching stuff to the
booth. You don't want to show up with a roll of duct tape
and discover that you'll be charged a big damage fee if you
use it.

Then, plan to print large-format graphics for the booth.
You'll want to include your logo and simple text about your
offering. Keep this very simple—most people won't slow down
while walking by, so you won't have long to catch their
attention! You can also consider using photos, but you'll
need very high resolution pictures to get good printing
results on large graphics, and that can be expensive. Be
sure that your booth graphics match your Visual Vocabulary
as well.

Also, consider using freestanding or tabletop easels and
printing posters. Get the posters mounted on foam core
board and display them around your booth. These are
especially effective near the front of the booth for
visitors who can't read text that's far away.

Decide the marketing materials you'll bring with you.
Again, base this on your goals and the one or two things
you need your visitors to know about at this show. Don't
take every piece of collateral you've ever created and
spread it out on the table, because that will only make
visitors uncomfortable.

Don't forget about decorating the top of your table. Ask
the organizers if tablecloths will be provided, and if so,
what color they'll be. If they're not provided or the color
doesn't compliment your brand, you'll want to get a
tablecloth for your booth. Consider putting a nice vase of
fresh flowers on the table top, or a bouquet of balloons to
add inexpensive color.

Think about how you'll display your marketing materials and
promotional items. Should you lay them flat? Stand them up
in acrylic holders? Fan them out or stack them up? You may
want to try several arrangements until you find the one
that's most visually pleasing.

Also, think about how you're gathering follow-up
information—do you need to highlight a fish bowl for
business cards or display a stack of response cards?
Choosing the right place and way to display these items can
really affect your response rate.

Finally, consider how the booth will look throughout the
course of the event. As people take marketing materials,
pillage your candy bowl, and pick up promotional items,
your booth may start looking messy. Straighten it up from
time to time to keep it looking professional.

These 5 preparatory steps will help you cut through the
craziness and clutter at your next trade show. And, then
instead of wishing for visitors, you'll find that your
booth is packed like the "win a bunny" booth on the midway
at the fair!

----------------------------------------------------
Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big
visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf
design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand
out in front of their competition and attract more clients.
Her "Define Your Difference Branding Workbook" will help
you with your brand definition - the most important step in
the logo design process.
http://www.elf-design.com/products-define.html

Interview & Meeting First Impressions

Interview & Meeting First Impressions
Whether you are going to a conference or meeting with a new
client, making a lasting first impression is important.
Because most people judge others within the first three
seconds of meeting them, how you act, what you say, and how
you look will play a large part in your success.

Walk Into a Room with Confidence

When meeting people for the first time, you should walk
into the room with your shoulders back and your head held
high. Always look people in the eye, repeat their name when
shaking their hand and always practice good manners during
a lunch meeting or networking situation. If you meet with a
lot of people during the day, it's important to show them
that you're a professional at all times. By walking into a
room feeling and acting confident, those around you will be
more eager to conduct business with you. Even if you're not
wearing the most expensive suit in the room, how confident
you are around others will make a big impact.

Learn When to Speak and When to Listen

During a business meeting, you may have plenty of ideas
that you want to share. But before you start talking, make
sure people are listening. If someone else is speaking,
wait your turn. Interrupting others will only make the
meeting longer. People may feel you are too pushy or that
you aren't respectful of other people. This is not the
impression you want to make, especially at your first
business meeting with a new client. By listening to others,
you will be able to learn more about the client, situation,
or dilemma the client is facing. If there is a pause during
the conversation, you should take the initiative and speak.
Unless you're running the meeting or you're scheduled to
speak first, listening to others carefully instead of
talking, making occasional comments, and offering feedback
when appropriate can help you make a great first impression
with a new client.

Wear Clothing That's Appropriate

In the age of the casual business environment, many people
are confused about what to wear to work, to a conference,
or to a client meeting.

When wearing casual clothing to the office, make sure the
clothing is clean, pressed, and free of stains or holes. If
you wear clothing that's not appropriate to the office, you
will not make a great impression on those you work with.

Even if the client's office has a casual dress code, you
will make a great first impression by wearing your best
suit. Many companies require that employees wear suits when
visiting clients. While you don't have total control over
how people judge you once they get to know you, these tips
can help you make a great first impression.

----------------------------------------------------
For more information on how to make an impression, visit
Claim That Job at http://www.claimthatjob.com .
Sharon Alexander is the author of the ebook Claim that
Job.com - The Ultimate Job-Hunting and Career Management
ebook that teaches the skills and techniques needed to
succeed in a competitive job-market.
http://www.claimthatjob.com .
http://www.claimthatjob.com/blog .

Automated Cigarette Manufacturing Methods

Automated Cigarette Manufacturing Methods
Cigarette manufacturing

Over the years, cigarette companies have needed to design
ways to keep up with the growing demand of cigarettes. They
have been able to do this through the use of machines. With
growing technology, the abilities of these machines have
drastically increased in capabilities.

When the cigarette industry started making cigarettes, they
were made by hand. People worked on a line and rolled and
glued the cigarettes one at a time. This process was slow
and did not produce many cigarettes in a given day. Today,
there are more than sixteen thousand cigarettes made each
minute on one machine. Supply and demand. These companies
will keep the cigarettes on the shelves and in your fingers
as long as there is a demand for them.

Technology has drastically increased from the time of hand
rolling. Now cigarettes are made quickly and easily as well
as in massive quantities and additionally now use
industrial machines. First the tobacco is transferred from
it's holding areas, this is normally called a silo. In the
silo, the tobacco is processed to insure the fullest flavor
of your cigarette. Then it is transferred to a machine that
will cut the tobacco and divide it. The machine will divide
the tobacco and roll it into cylindrical shapes. Then it is
transferred on to another machine.

The final process is to flip one of the doubled stick so
that it faces the opposite direction. This ensures that
made cigarettes are in proper place for packing. The
machines used these days are faster paced than just doing
it yourself. It all seems quite simple from back in the day
when they had processed cigarettes by hand.

This next machine will work with the paper. The paper is
fed into machines on long rolls that will cut off at
specific sections. This will actually make more than one
cigarette at a time. Often, this system will make two or
more cigarettes in which are rolled into the paper and
glued, then cut. The filter is then added and a brown cork
paper is then added to the white tube. The logo is
imprinted onto the cigarette at this point.

From there, the cigarette will move onto the packaging
area. Packaging is interesting as the cigarettes are each
turned opposite from each other and then put into packs.
This insures a tight fit into the wrapping. All in all,
this process takes micro seconds for each cigarette!
Amazing. Where it took at least five minutes to make one
cigarette in the past, machines are now taking that same
five minutes and making over eighty thousand cigarettes at
a time.

Machines have made it easier to make sure the product is on
the market and ready for buyers. With the changes in
technology, there are now faster machines on the market
that can insure that cigarette manufacturers can get more
cigarettes on the market without the need to hire
additional help. It is mostly automated. Take a look at the
new machines and what they can offer your company.
Increase productivity today!

----------------------------------------------------
Sly filters (Europe) Ltd manufacture and supply tobacco
feed systems for the tobacco manufacturing industry. Go to
http://tobaccofeedsystems.com for more details of our
tobacco feed systems.

Network Your Way to Success

Network Your Way to Success
Business networking is a valuable tool for everyone, in
particular for those who are actively looking for a job or
to gain business from new clients. Networking is a way of
reaching out and increasing your visibility by letting
people know who you are and what you do.

By effective networking, you can make it so that people
remember you and what you do. As they go about their
business they may find that they or someone they know may
need someone of your particular talents. If you have
successfully made an impression, they'll seek you out.

Some people believe that you must know the right people in
order to be successful at networking, but this is simply
not true. Networking can be done anywhere and with anyone.
Never rule anyone out as not having the ability to be
useful. You never know who they may know or possibly run
into at some time in the future. Take a genuine interest in
people around you.

Find out what they do and where they work. Don't be shy;
ask if there are openings and if it would be possible for
you to get in for an interview. Tell people what you do and
what you hope for. Make up some business cards and hand
them out liberally. Some of them may end up getting tossed
into the trash but just having your name, occupation and
phone number out in circulation gives you more of a chance
of getting a contact.

When networking, always be courteous and professional when
dealing with anyone. This gives a good impression of you
and people remember this.

It would be a good idea to build some kind of filing system
of all the people you come in contact with. If you were to
receive a call from someone out of the blue as a result of
previous contact, it leaves a lasting impression on them if
you are able to remember exactly who they are and the
circumstances of your initial meeting. This makes people
feel special and they are more likely to want to help you.

A simple way of doing this would be to file their business
card, if you received one, with a simple notation of whom
the person is and where you met. If you didn't receive a
card then simply note the person's name and occupation
along with a brief description. People feel special when
they're remembered.

Remember always, networking isn't just about you. Listen to
the people you meet and keep their information on file so
that if you were to hear of an opportunity you can let them
know also. If someone you know has helped you by getting
you in the door then take some time to thank them for their
help.

----------------------------------------------------
For more information on networking, and to get a free job
hunting report, visit Claim That Job at
http://www.claimthatjob.com .
Claim That Job is the ultimate Career Management and Job
Hunting guide. You will be taken through the strategies and
tips required to be a success in today's competitive job
market. Claim That Job - http://www.claimthatjob.com

Stop selling! Satisfy the Four Universal needs of Buyers, and They will buy!

Stop selling! Satisfy the Four Universal needs of Buyers, and They will buy!
Let's face it, people buy from people, particularly people
they trust and like people who remind them of themselves.
People that they can trust. Therefore it is important for
you, as a sales professional, to be aware of and to
understand the universal needs of buyers.

The competencies of sales professionals are numerous but
boil down to human interaction, communication and
relationship building. You, as a sales professional, needs
to establish rapport and build trust, to communicate
effectively and to develop and maintain lasting
relationships, if you are to succeed in the sales
profession.

In order to build a long-term relationship, you as a sales
professional, must first establish rapport. You need to
know how to build rapport quickly so that you can gain the
trust that is needed to ask questions and get answers. You
need two basic communications skills the skill of asking
questions and listening to the responses.

What is the point of asking questions if you are too busy
thinking up other questions to ask and not listening?

At one time sales professionals were taught to follow the
golden rule "Do onto others as you would like to have done
onto yourself." That was a great rule to follow. Under the
golden rule, and it is right to say, that to yourself,you
are the most important person in the world and how your
treat yourself is how you should also treat others.

However, over the years the golden rule has been replaced
with the Platinum rule "Do onto others as they would like
to have done onto themselves." The platinum rule takes on a
different approach. What it is saying is that when you are
with another person, treat them the way they would like to
be treated, not the way you would want to be treated.
Therefore, we have had to change our sales approach.

As a salesperson, when we meet with a prospect or a client,
who is the most important person in the world? I hope you
said the opposite of the golden rule and said the prospect
or client. If so, great, because without a prospect or a
client, you have absolutely no chance of selling them
anything. Do you agree? I hope so.

So, if the prospect or client is the most important person
in the world when it comes to sales and we are to follow
the platinum rule, we best treat them the way they want to
be treated. So, sales professionals need to understand the
universal needs of buyers.

There are basically four universal needs that sales
professionals must address to satisfy buyers. The first one
is that buyers have a need to be understood. That means we
must listen to them and question them to better understand
them. The problem many sales people have is that they don't
listen and worst yet, they don't question the answers they
receive to get even more information. More to come on this
in another article on questioning skills.

The second universal need is that buyers need to feel
welcomed. How do you welcome people that come and visit
you at home? Do you welcome prospects and clients the same
way, even in their own premise? Buyers have the need to
feel important. How important do you make them feel in your
presence? Showing interest by asking questions and taking
notes is one way to do that.

They also have the need to feel comfortable. How can you
make them more comfortable?

----------------------------------------------------
Bob Urichuck is an International Speaker, Trainer and
Best-Selling Author. Learn personally from Bob in the areas
of Sales, Motivation, Leadership and Team Skills. Bob
presents a series of great ideas and strategies with
combination of facts, humor, and practical concept in a
high-energy and self-discovery process that you can apply
right away to achieve results. Subscribe to Bob's Free
Newsletter, worth $297, visit http://www.BobU.com Now!

A Key to Success

A Key to Success
'Success is often achieved by those who don't know that
failure is inevitable.' - Coco Chanel.

How's your internal negative voice today? You know the
one. The one that tells you things like 'that'll never
work', 'that's a stupid idea', 'who on Earth would want to
buy this stuff from you?', 'you really think you can run
your own business—who are you kidding?', 'there are
so many other businesses like yours out there, being run by
better people with more experience and knowledge—you
haven't got a chance', 'that's a ridiculous goal, it's too
big—you've got no hope of ever reaching it.'

The good news is it's not just you, most of us have got
those voices. And what do we do about it? Unfortunately
we tend to listen, and even worse—believe them!

The great news is that you can do something about it! Think
of a project you've been mulling over. You think it's a
great idea and could be a fantastic success but you've been
holding back on it.

What's stopping you? Is that that voice inside your head
telling you that failure is inevitable?

There are some powerful questions you can ask yourself
which will help you to silence that voice.

Make sure you can remain undisturbed for a few minutes so
that you can truly let your mind concentrate and open up to
new thoughts. You may find a pen and paper useful to jot
down any ideas that come to you. Then ask yourself the
following questions. Really take your time in answering
them, ensure you explore every possibility.

- What's stopping me from moving forward with this
idea/project?

- If there were no obstacles in the way, what would I do?

- If the voice is wrong, what would that mean? What effect
would that have?

- What evidence do I have, based on past occurrences, that
the voice could be wrong about this?

- The part of me that this voice represents is trying to
protect me. And I thank it for that. How would that part
of me react if I, having taken everything into
consideration, gave this project a go?

- Does that part of me agree that it's worth trying?

- If I knew I could not fail, what would I do?

When we try something new it is often the case that it
doesn't work perfectly first time. The people to whom Coco
Chanel was referring either don't have that negative
internal voice telling them it won't work or, more likely,
they have learnt to control it. The result is that they go
ahead. And if it doesn't quite work they still don't
listen to the voice. What they do instead is make some
changes and try again. Making changes is essential. After
all 'if you always do what you always did, you will always
get what you always got.' And if it still doesn't quite
work, they make some more changes and try again. And so on
until, inevitably, they succeed.

----------------------------------------------------
© Emma Wortt of Em-powering U, April 2008. All Rights
Reserved.
Emma Wortt is a qualified Professional Coach and NLP
Practitioner. She runs her business Em-powering U to coach
and support those who have started or who want to start
their own small business. If that's you and you would like
to read more articles like this one you can sign up for the
Em-powering U FREE newsletter at
http://www.em-powering-u.co.uk

Is Performance always a Competition

Is Performance always a Competition
When we have some time to take a breath, read a newspaper,
watch a TV show, and relax, we find a continuation of what
is common in the work place. A lot of what is presented and
written about is describing how well - or not so well -
others did, organizations did, sports teams did, - in a
nutshell, how well they performed.

Every walk of life seems to be inundated with competition.
We feel we constantly have to compete with others, show
that we are worthy and that we deserve to advance based on
our performance.

As you have seen in many articles and writings, I call
myself a Performance Coach. When we say our motto is:
"Helping other succeed", or "Helping other help themselves
achieve their goals and dreams", we actually want to help
them to improve their performance.

On first glace that seems to be pretty obvious and easy to
understand. When we look into the meaning of the word
performance, we can learn a number of things, but also get
a little more confused. Here are some samples:

Kernerman's English Multilingual Dictionary says
performance = the doing of something.

Fair enough. We probably can all agree with that. The
questions is: what is the something and how well is it done?

The Encyclopedia Britannica looks at the legal aspects and
offers this explanation:

Performance in law, is the act of doing that which is
required by a contract. The effect of successful
performance is to discharge the person bound to do the act
from any future contractual liability. Each party to the
contract is bound to perform promises according to the
stipulated terms.

I guess that means: If you do what you promised in a
contract, you performed as expected and are entitled to the
compensation that was promised to you. Wouldn't it be nice
if things were that simple? You tell your boss what you are
willing to do, and when you do it, you are good to go? In
most cases that won't work, because we all have come to
understand that what was originally promised is seen as the
minimum requirement and sets the basic expectation.

The first lesson to learn from is this: Don't over-promise,
so the foundation of the expectation regarding your
performance isn't too high. Then, over-deliver and surprise
those who need to compensate you.

A word of caution: You want to find realistic values when
applying this lesson. If you play low-ball and then blow
everybody away by your final delivery, you run the risk of
loosing trust. Give realistic figures, set realistic
expectations, and then try everything you can to best them;
that is the approach that will help you in the long run.

Back to the definitions: Webster's Dictionary gives us
these choices for the term:

Performance =

- the execution of an action
- something accomplished
- the fulfillment of a claim, promise, or request
- the action of representing a character in a play
- a public presentation or exhibition (a benefit
performance)
- the ability to perform
- the linguistic behavior of an individual

With all these version of performance in mind, we want to
see if it always has to be competition.

I say = NO!

What we want to achieve is a way to act and do things in
our way. That is the way we want to be known for, the way
we are proud of, the way we acknowledge for ourselves, the
honest way we are and we act. Remember the saying: "How you
do something is how you do everything!"

Our performance should always be the best we can do. That
requires to give our actions some thought ' and don't
forget, what we say is an action too, so give that some
thought as well.

The recent tendency to turn everything into a competition
makes life and work appear as if someone has to loose for
someone else to win, and naturally, the winner is always
seen as the better performer.

In some cases when that argument of someone or something
being better doesn't necessarily apply, other reasons for
awarding a winner to a competition are thought. You might
recall the recent award of a huge contract by the US Air
Force to the American company Northrop-Grumman. They have
created a new tanker airplane for the military that won in
4 out of 5 critical performance areas. In addition it has
the shorter take off distance with the same take off
weight, meaning it can take off from shorter runways all
around the world.

When our troops are involved in battle, they don't always
have the luxury of perfectly prepared airfields with never
ending runways, so this point has global importance. Still,
Boeing tried to make the argument that they should win the
contract anyway, because some of the parts and work is
going to be done by a company outside the United States,
namely Airbus.

What does that mean for our initial question? Well,
performance is not a matter of who wins the competition
(assuming there even is one), but a matter of integrity.
You don't just want to perform to you highest level when
others are watching (or judging, like about the tanker
plane), but always. You want to be able to provide your
best effort all the time, or the best of your team, and the
best of your company.

Yes, you may not always win, but that is because others try
their hardest too, and every once in a while their best is
a little better than yours. Rather than finding reasons
outside yourself, you want to look at what can be learned,
and do better the next time around.

If you live and work in an environment where you can
motivate others and yourself to always bring the best
possible performance to the table, you will win the vast
majority of situations. The effort and the integrity with
which you perform it actually counts much more than the
fact that you are the last one standing at the end of a
competition.

Bottom line: performance is not always a competition, but
it should always be a sign of your best effort, brought
with honesty, integrity, and pried to those that ask for
it. If you set your values and your attitude in this way,
you will become very successful, and everybody around you
will love and respect you.

Try it, - you will see how good it feels!

----------------------------------------------------
Axel Meierhoefer is an experienced performance coach,
author, educator, consultant, and the founder of Axel
Meierhoefer Consulting LLC (AMC LLC). His motto is" Helping
others help themselves achieve success". If you like to get
on his VIP E-mail list to receive more articles, or if you
like to receive his FREE special report, go to
http://www.meierhoefer.net/special or email
AM@Meierhoefer.net

Value and Honor Individual Preferences to Build a More Profitable Business Model

Value and Honor Individual Preferences to Build a More Profitable Business Model
Think about something you buy all of the time. Imagine how
you would change that offering if you had complete control
over what was delivered. The result would look a lot
different, wouldn't it? Your customers feel the same way,
as do their customers, and so on.

Let's expand on the idea of individualizing what you offer.
This is an important subject, and one where you have many
pleasant and unpleasant surprises ahead of you. To begin
with, you probably don't know what choices each potential
customer wants.

Market research results will often tell you which
percentage of the market favors various options. Better
market research may even segment the market, and tell you
preferences by segment.

Be wary though of the answers because both approaches can
be very misleading for identifying the right new benefit
choices to add.

Let's look at the information a different way. Segment your
customers to find those where you should earn a higher
profit margin than any of your competitors in serving the
total account. Then, consider one-by-one how you could add
valuable benefits to each of these customers.

The best way to do this is to spend time observing how they
and their customers (and so forth on to the final user)
engage and respond to your products and services. Then
follow up on your observations by discussing what you
learned with those you observed and asking them about what
else is important to that customer which you have not yet
observed. Your expressed sensitivity to their problems will
help them dredge up deeply buried resentments and problems
that they have repressed because they assume you will do
nothing to help them.

Why start with those where you can earn a higher profit
margin than competitors?

First, because you will be more eager and interested in
finding new benefits for them.

Second, you are more likely to be willing to create
customer-specific solutions for them (which all of your
potential customers may also need).

Third, the potential rewards for your company from adding
these benefits are large. As such, your successful
experiments will add more resources that you may need to
change to a better business model.

After you have done all you can do with this set of
customers, then look at the customers (one-by-one again)
where your total account profit margin will be similar to
the most effective competitor in supplying or helping that
account. Follow the same process, except to discuss and
offer to add improvements that you have identified from
your first experiences.

Having examined these two groups, you then need to begin
thinking about how each of these benefits can be customized
to reflect what individual customers need. Rather than
giving each new benefit to all customers (whether they need
or value the benefit, or not), how can you change your
business model to provide just the right mix of new
benefits that the customer wants and needs? Notice that in
many cases this may include doing less than you do now in
some areas for certain customers.

Consider Dell Computer. Each corporate account can have a
separate on-line profile that tells Dell what
configurations of hardware and software the company wants.
The profile for each customer is different, and is based on
interactions with the customer.

When a person at a customer account orders a piece of
equipment (whether a server or a personal computer), that
equipment will come preloaded with just the capabilities
and software that are needed to work best for that company
without any further activity by the Information Technology
staff. This compatibility across all the equipment allows
all the tasks to run faster and more reliably for their
intended purposes in a given application.

How can your business model go from providing consistent
potential benefits to all customers to tailoring those
benefits specifically to individual customers and sell at
today's prices? The odds are pretty good that you can,
because many people don't want expensive-to-provide aspects
of your current offerings.

At the same time, others would be willing to pay a premium
for the same aspects. The cost of getting and responding to
the right information for what to provide should be a lot
less than the cost of providing the wrong combinations of
aspects for almost every customer. Many contract
manufacturers and outsourced service suppliers have the
skill and experience to help you put processes in place to
fulfill these individual needs, if you find the challenge
insuperable.

Copyright 2008 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved

----------------------------------------------------
Donald Mitchell is chairman of Mitchell and Company, a
strategy and financial consulting firm in Weston, MA. He is
coauthor of seven books including Adventures of an
Optimist, The 2,000 Percent Solution, and The Ultimate
Competitive Advantage. You can find free tips for
accomplishing 20 times more by registering at:
====> http://www.2000percentsolution.com .

Setting Goals That Are Realistic

Setting Goals That Are Realistic
Establishing goals is important in every aspect of your
life, including setting goals for your business, but one of
the worst things a new business owner can do is set the
goals so high that they are not attainable. Setting goals
will take more than pulling a figure out of the air,
especially when it comes to income from your business. To
be accurate any target number you are aiming for must be
within reach of the arrow or else it could fall harmlessly
to the ground considerably short of the target.

Every business owner has heard the advice to aim high to
achieve high results. However, aiming too high could have
the arrow fall straight back down hitting you in the head.
In order to establish realistic goals, you will also need
to set intermediate goals as well as way to achieve them.
Once you have gone through the goal-setting process you
will know if you have any chance at all of hitting the
income target. Setting income goals for your home business
has no relationship to daydreaming about what you would do
if you hit the lottery. This process has to be grounded in
reality.

You can begin the process by pulling a number out of a hat,
but then you have to go back and calculate what it will
take to meet that number. Kind of like eating an elephant,
it takes one bite at a time to establish a realistic goal
for generating cash. For example, if your plan is to make
$10,000 a month, break it into weeks, showing you need
$2,500 a week to hit the goal, or $333 a day. Look at your
sales or production goal to determine if the current level
of production can earn an income of $333 a day and if so,
maybe the number was not as arbitrary as initially thought.

On the other hand, if production indicates you can only
produce enough to make $250 a day, then the weekly and
monthly and subsequently annual income project will have to
be lowered to meet expectations. You can then look at your
production schedule to determine if any streamlining can be
done to improve output as well as looking at many issues
that could slow you down and lower your income projections.
Whenever you pencil in a number you have to also write down
how you are going to meet that daily and weekly goal,
taking into account anything that might hinder you
achieving that goal.

The most devastating affect of setting lofty goals that
cannot be met is the disappointment that follows. On an
individual basis, if goals are set too high, and targets
are consistently missed, you might simply stop trying. What
this means to the business owner is they can end up closing
up shop and trying something else. For any employees, it
can mean the loss of their job. Setting the goals at a
realistic level and hitting them is cause for celebration,
but only for a few minutes as you now start looking at the
next level in the goal to meet your long-range projections.

----------------------------------------------------
William Drapcho is owner of http://williamdrapcho.com and
writes on a variety of subjects. Visit his site and sign
up for his free home computer business ideas newsletter.

The 5 Biggest Business Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

The 5 Biggest Business Mistakes And How To Avoid Them
There are common mistakes made by all companies and, whilst
they can leave a nasty dent in a large corporation, they
can totally ruin a small business. These are the five
biggest mistakes commonly made by companies of all sizes
and what you can do to avoid them.

1. Not managing cash

This is the single greatest cause of business failure and
it's what keeps most entrepreneurs awake at night (and if
it doesn't, it should!)

Your cashflow is an absolutely essential part of your
business. If you have too much going out or not enough
coming in, then you're heading for trouble. It may sound
obvious but it's still the most common failing of companies
of all sizes.

The challenge for any growing business is that there is
usually a gap between what you pay to your suppliers and
employees and what you get back in from your customers.
Most business owners are painfully aware of this when they
start their business and sales are few and costs relatively
high. However, as sales begin to grow, it's easy to take
your eye off the ball and forget this gap. And whilst your
sales are growing your costs are also increasing and your
ability to switch off those costs at short notice becomes
more and more difficult. And then you meet a slowdown in
your sales or your customer payments and all of a sudden
your bank balance tips further into the red than it's ever
done before. And your business can go from boom to bust
almost overnight.

The only way to avoid this is to keep strict control over
your cash and monitor it passionately. If you have a CFO
or FD, even part-time, they can help you here. Never lose
sight of the importance of collecting your debts as soon as
possible and always keep a careful eye on what's going out,
what's coming in and what you're committed to. And make
sure you have a system for forecasting your future cash
position, especially if you're growing fast.

And if you don't know how to do it, find someone who does,
quickly.

2. Poor marketing

Unfortunately it's not always the best products that win
through in business. There are many great inventions that
have fallen by the wayside because they simply weren't
marketed well enough. And usually it's because there was a
competitor out there doing a better job of the marketing,
even if they didn't have a better product.

Marketing is about how you communicate what you do to your
potential customers. And it's about evoking the right
emotional responses in those potential customers. If
you're out there pushing the great features your product
has, you'll nearly always lose out to the competitor who
tells the market what the product will do for them and how
it will make them feel.

Of course, if you don't do any marketing then nobody will
know you exist. And if you jump straight into great big,
expensive, scattergun campaigns, then you'll just be
pouring cash down the drain.

To succeed you need to concentrate on focused, targeted,
emotional, benefits driven marketing and PR, then you'll
find the whole selling process will come so much easier.
And that means your business will grow. And how will that
feel?

3. Hiring the wrong people

Hiring the wrong person can be one of the most costly
mistakes you make. It might be a sales person who can't
sell, an accountant who can't add up, or a senior manager
who tries to steal your job and take over the company.

When you think about the costs of hiring there's a lot to
consider. You've got the recruitment fees; the time and
effort you put into the recruitment process; the employee's
salary and benefits; the tax, training, equipment and
office costs that you have to cover and the development and
training time. And then, if you realise you have to get
rid of them because they're not working out, there can be
more time spent going through the process of removing them,
the cost of notice periods, additional benefits and often
some form of payoff so that they won't sue you.

And then you have to start all over again, hiring someone
new, having wasted a huge amount of time, effort, energy
and money.

Get your hiring process in tip top condition and spend as
much time as it takes to get the right person. Don't
settle for the best of a bad bunch and don't just pick
someone and hope they work out. Know exactly what you're
looking for and design ways to test the candidates to
ensure you get the right people. If it takes a day of
testing, then do it, rather than commit a huge chunk of
your resources based on a couple of brief chats that pass
for interviews.

Check references, research the candidates on the internet,
check their previous employers and look for ways to verify
what they say. If should come as no surprise that not
everyone is completely honest in their job applications.

4. Losing control

There are many ways that a business owner can lose control
of their business. Sometimes it's over-delegation of
essentials like payments to suppliers. Sometimes it's
over-reliance on a management team that have a different
agenda in mind. Sometimes it comes through raising finance
and giving away too much of the company to investors.

As a business owner, it's rare that you'll find someone
else who will care as much about your business, customers,
staff and investors as you do. It's a great idea to bring
in a management team to run your business for you but don't
be surprised if they have their own agendas and career
aspirations, which may not always include you.

You can't do everything, and there comes a point when you
have to trust other people. The key is to make sure they
know what you expect from them and to ensure you've got a
way of monitoring what they are doing.

Control is invariably about information and the ability to
make decisions. When you have good information you can see
what is really happening and then you can take the right
decisions. This can be information about what's being
spent and what's being sold. And on what terms. It can be
information about any significant agreement, deal or
commitment that the company is entering into. Create great
management information systems that really tell you what's
going on in the business.

Always be careful of anyone who seeks to put themselves in
a position of control over your business. That includes
staff, investors, other directors, suppliers, customers and
banks. Think about what you're giving away in any
agreement and look for ways to protect yourself and stay in
control if you want to protect the value in your company.
The moment someone else can make decisions about your
business then you've lost control.

5. Forgetting about the customer

Lastly, one of the most common mistakes made as a business
grows larger is forgetting about the very customers that
supported the company's growth in the first place.

When you start in business you tend to stay close to your
customers. You're building a reputation and making sure you
deliver first class service. You'll often be on first name
terms with many of them and know exactly what you've sold
to them.

As you grow, the gap between you as the business owner and
the customers can grow larger and larger. And as it does,
they can stop meaning so much to you because you start to
see them as just names and numbers on a report rather than
people you're providing a service to.

And as that disconnection grows, it can be easy to forget
what it was that brought the customers to you in the first
place. The personal touches that made you stand out from
your competitors. And after a while your company becomes
just another commodity provider and your customers start to
drift away to the competition.

Stay connected.

Always remember who put your business where it is today.
It's your customers and clients who pay your bills, your
salary and who provide the value in your business. If you
come to sell your business, it's going to be your customers
(current and future) who are going to be supporting the
value of your company.

Keep in touch with your customers. Get out and see them.
Talk to them and listen. You'll discover a whole lot more
about your business and you'll make your company stand out
from the crowd. Keep your promises and always deliver the
best possible service you can and you'll build a loyal
customer base that will stay with you.

Of course there are many more mistakes that can be made but
if you can avoid these 5 then you've got far more chance of
your business surviving and thriving.

----------------------------------------------------
Andy Warren is the Managing Director of Marshall Keen Ltd.
He is a chartered accountant and successful CFO, FD and
entrepreneur with extensive experience in M&A, Corporate
Finance, Business Growth and Exit Strategies. Marshall
Keen http://www.marshallkeen.com specialises in providing
flexible CFO services and part time FDs to early and mid
stage businesses, particularly in the tech sector.

The Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of Joint Ventures

The Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of Joint Ventures
What is a Joint Venture?

When two entities enter into an equal partnership, this is
a joint venture. The essential defining factors of this
union are equal risk and equal reward. That means that each
party will divide the costs evenly, and will also share the
profits. The parties may enter into a legally binding
agreement that covers the responsibilities and expectations
of each. Later, we will discuss the different forms a joint
venture can take. First, we will get a more complete
understanding of a joint venture.

When is the right time to partner?

You will have to take a good honest look at your company.
Consider the timeline of your success. Where did you begin?
Where are you now? Where do you see your company in 5
years? In 10? After grasping that perspective, explore the
key components needed to get you to your short term goals,
and then your long term goals. Finally, if what is needed
could be supported by partnering with a company who does or
has what you need, then now may be the time to form a joint
venture.

Why a Joint Venture?

Entering into a joint venture has some known benefits. The
first and maybe most appealing of them is the concept of
spreading the liabilities between the two parties. Most
parties are willing to put in their share of equity,
feeling assured that the other party is equally invested.
As the saying goes, people follow their money. Because of
this, entering into a joint venture is a more secure form
of partnership, as both have shared the risk. Both parties'
reputations and profitability depend upon their doing their
part to succeed.

Where do I find the right company to align with?

You'll have to ask yourself what parts of the country or
internet you'd like to reach. Or if part of your company's
vision is to become international, then a joint venture may
be required. Many US companies must form a joint venture
with an international one in order to do business in that
country. The US company must partner with the foreign one
in order to be legal.

Who should I JV with?

At times, choosing the right entity to join with can seem
overwhelming. After all, you have a company to run. If you
have your own research and development team, they can help
find the company whose partnership will help your company
develop into its next level of success. However, consider
that there are joint ventures brokers who can do this job
for you. After collecting information of your company's
vision, they can help you find the best match for you
particular goals.

How do I form a Joint Venture?

A joint venture will most commonly take the form of a
corporation, a limited liability company, or a limited
liability partnership. Many things should be considered
when choosing which is right for you. Each of these have
different tax implications, and it is recommended to
consult a tax professional is deciphering the best fit for
both parties.

----------------------------------------------------
Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A strategic
Collaboration Marketing consulting firm. He empowers
business owners to discover and implement Integration,
Alliance, and Joint Ventures marketing tactics to solve
specific business challenges. He demonstrates how to create
your own Collaboration Marketing Strategy to increase your
sales, conversation rates, and repeat business.
Contact: christian@christianfea.com
http://www.christianfea.com