Found a great article relating to time management and how to increase your productivity. I agree with what I read because in college I was conditioned to always carry around my planner to practice time management and to mark dates, times, and task to be completed. I have also noticed that Franklin Covey planners explained the importance of labeling task in order of importance, but I can say I never measured my daily level of energy and matched it with tasks for better productivity.
Wow, I am sure there are many like me that would be interested in doubling their productivity and cutting their To Do list down to size. I hope this article helps others as it helped me.
Counter-Intuitive Time Management
Posted by editor1 on November 24, 2009 inWorking SmarterArticle Sponsor:
Innovative Techniques to Tame a Never-Ending Start-Up To Do List
By Linda Walker
The absolute BIGGEST challenge that entrepreneurs, artists, authors, and other creative geniuses that come to me for help is productivity. Some know they need help with time management techniques. Others are struggling, but they haven’t discovered that poor time management is the source of their frustration.
By asking a few questions, I zero in on the source of their misery, and evaluate whether they can benefit from the special time management techniques I teach. I just look for certain things they have in common.
4 Things All Entrepreneurs, Authors, and Other Creative Geniuses That Need Time Management Help Have in Common:
• They are amazingly creative yet they feel like underachievers because even though they generate brilliant ideas with jaw-dropping ease, they struggle to act on them.
• These “live-wire” geniuses are adventurous, ambitious, and energetic. They’ll start a hundred projects, but then bog down because of indecision, procrastination, or a feeling of being overwhelmed.
• They search relentlessly for new time management tips and try anything to improve their time management skills regardless of past struggles, but standard, “common sense” time management techniques just don’t work.
• Despite their best efforts, they’ve accumulated a never-ending To Do list (I call it their To Do “book”) and they’re frustrated with time management techniques that don’t work.
These thrill-seeking rebels share another characteristic. Each was diagnosed with ADD or ADHD as a child, has adult ADHD, or exhibits many adult ADHD traits. Their brains work differently than most people. But, as soon as they turn on to my counter-intuitive time management techniques, they experience a dramatic turnaround almost overnight.
See, you have to understand that your productivity depends on your mental and physical energy. Yes, you produce less when you’re tired, but your energy levels fluctuate far more than you realize.
How Your Energy Levels Affect Your Productivity
• At times, you have ample mental energy. You can laser-focus on anything that interests you, you’re amazingly productive, and you keep going long after other people are exhausted.
• Other times, you have plenty of physical energy, but your brain is also racing. You can’t concentrate. You’re eager to move and go through short (physical) tasks with ease.
• You need time to recharge. Your brain isn’t a plough-horse, plodding sedately. It’s a racehorse, capable of stunning bursts of power and speed. Like a racehorse, you must recharge between races.
• You also have your own unique energy fluctuations between these that create periods when you’re better at some tasks than you are at others.
Your energy fluctuations follow an identifiable pattern. When my clients track their energy level fluctuations at work and at play, within a week they have an accurate map of their daily energy levels, and the pattern repeats almost identically from week to week.
As a creative genius, you’ll always have many tasks on your To Do list! You effortlessly think up cool things to do or important things you should do. But you have to commit to do those tasks at a specific time by moving them from your To Do list to your agenda. Unfortunately, the large, unstructured space of your blank agenda often leads to indecisiveness and procrastination. Think of it as writer’s block for time management.
A Time Management Technique That Will Add Productive Hours to Your Day and Cut Your “To-Do” List Down to Size Guaranteed
You need a way to categorize and prioritize your tasks. Traditional time management techniques group tasks by importance. But assigning letter and number combinations to signify priority loses its effectiveness when you have 47 “A” tasks, at least six of which are important enough to be an “A1!” Instead, you should group your tasks by the energy required.
Now, here’s the secret to doubling your productivity and cutting your To Do list down to size. Use the map of your energy fluctuations to match tasks from your To Do list with a time when you typically have the ideal energy level for that task. Almost effortlessly, you’ll give your productivity a huge shot in the arm. Match your activities with times when you have the ideal energy type and level for maximum productivity doing that task, and you’ll tear through your To Do list like a tornado. HBM
Linda Walker coaches entrepreneurs, artists, authors and other creative geniuses who want to realize their dreams and overcome their needless struggle with traditional time management techniques that don’t work with rebel, thrill-seeking, creative brains. Now, discover the “productivity myths” holding you back, and learn how to overcome them: www.productivitymythsbusted.com.
Previously published in the October 2009 issue of HOME BUSINESS® Magazine, an international publication for the growing and dynamic home-based market. Available on newsstands, in bookstores and chain stores, and via subscriptions ($19.00 for 1 year, six issues). Visit www.homebusinessmag.com
The article above was taken from the following link http://www.homebusinessmag.com/management/working-smarter/counter-intuitive-time-management-0.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Hookup's...
I heard about this on the radio the other day in detroit on AM 1200 and MAN!! I never realized how I may be undervaluing my business and products, by providing hookups. I have two businesses, performing IT repair, marketing telecom products and home security. In my IT business, with family, I pretty much have been taking what people can give me for it. Yesterday, after reading this article, I realized that I spent money and time to go to school to learn this skill, and 9 years of professionally doing it. To just give it away essentially for free..defeats the purpose.
I also have noticed that even though most of my family and friends know that I market telecom products (cell phones, video voip phones, internet). There are those who ask if I can get them a free phone or super discounted prices on the monthly services. If I dont, many times they will go to the bigger companies and get them, often for a little more in cost than what I could give them.
Well anyway, please comment below your thoughts...
Do "hookups" occur in other ethnic groups? Let me know...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why I Hate The Hook-Up
Want to support black entrepreneurs? Stop hitting them up for freebies
By Alfred Edmond, Jr. - December 03, 2009
http://www.blackenterprise.com/blogs/2009/12/03/why-i-hate-the-hook-up
Stop me if you've heard this one. Richard, a black comedian calls his white friend: "Hey, Chad. Just wanted to let you know: I'll be in town next week to do a show. Hope you can make it."
Chad: "Really? That's great! What night is it? I'll call all of my friends and we'll pack the house! It'll be a blast!"
"Thanks, Chad!," says Richard. "It's on Thursday night. I'll see you then!"
Richard hangs up, excited about the prospect of a big night at the comedy club, which means more gigs. He then he calls his boy, Lamont. (What? You know he's black. How many white, Asian or Latino guys named Lamont do you know? Try to keep up, okay? Anyway...)
Richard: "Monty-Mont! Whassup? It's ya boy, Richy-Rich! Just hollerin' atcha to let you know that I got a gig in town next Thursday. You coming, right?"
Lamont: "Hell, yes, I'm coming! You funny as a mug! Shoot, I'll bring my girl, and tell her to bring her girls, and I'll get Antonio and Big Rob and Lisa to come and get the word out to their peeps, too!"
"Cool!," says Richard. He holds his breath. He knows it's coming.
"You gonna hook us all up, right?," says Lamont.
One of the biggest drags on black entrepreneurial growth and profitability is the "hook-up": black people expecting other black people to provide them with free goods and services just because they're black. We need to stop it. Today. NOW.
No, she can't hook you up with a few press releases and some public relations for your event.
No, he can't hook you up with a few signed copies of his book.
No, he can't hook you up with a quick shape-up so you can look fly at the club tonight.
No, she can't hook you and your momma and aunties up with free tickets to the fashion show.
No, she can't hook up a business plan for you real quick.
No, she can't deliver the dinner keynote without an honorarium, in return for two tickets at the head table for food she won't get to eat. Because she'll be speaking during the dinner.
No, they can't wash your car, pull your teeth, do your hair, fix your computer, edit your manuscript, paint your house, build your web site, etc. for free! Discount? Maybe. Complimentary services for referring new—paying—customers? Okay. An occasional freebie for long-time, loyal customers who always pay? Sure. Barter my goods or services for yours? We might be able to work something out. But, FREE? NO!
Hello? The point of being in business is to make money! How can entrepreneurs, and black business owners in particular, make money, if they're expected to give their products and services—which costs them money to create, develop, market and deliver—away for free? If you don't spend money with them, they can't spend their money with you. If you won't pay for your haircut, your barber can't pay to eat at your restaurant. If Leslie the auto dealer won't pay a competitive rate for wedding planning, Lisa the wedding planner can't afford to buy a car from Leslie. Money has to circulate in order for economic empowerment to happen and for black entrepreneurs to have a chance to compete and thrive. You don't support black entrepreneurs by showing up for the hook-up. You support black business by paying up.
When I find a black entrepreneur or professional who provides goods and services I like, I pay for those goods and services—period. I know that there are costs associated with providing a service and making a product, a cost they can only recoup by selling at a profit. I don't want them to hook me up with free stuff. I want to hook them up with my spending, because then they can really hook me up, by creating jobs, growing the local tax base, supporting community organizations, doing business with other black entrepreneurs and professionals—or just having enough money and a predisposition to reciprocate, to buy goods and services (like subscriptions to Black Enterprise) from me and mine. I want black entrepreneurs to make money. I want them to succeed. I want them to get more than rich. I want to see as many wealthy black entrepreneurs, families and communities as possible. So if I like what they're selling, I'm more than happy—I'm thrilled—to pay for it, and to tell all of my family, friends and associates how great they are.
Do you really want to support black entrepreneurs and black professionals? Stop hitting them up for freebies. If you believe in their products and services, pay for them, as you would for the products and services of any other business. If what they're selling doesn't merit that, why are you patronizing them in the first place? Do you really think you're doing them—or yourself—a favor?
Alfred A. Edmond Jr. is the editor-in-chief of BlackEnterprise.com
I also have noticed that even though most of my family and friends know that I market telecom products (cell phones, video voip phones, internet). There are those who ask if I can get them a free phone or super discounted prices on the monthly services. If I dont, many times they will go to the bigger companies and get them, often for a little more in cost than what I could give them.
Well anyway, please comment below your thoughts...
Do "hookups" occur in other ethnic groups? Let me know...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why I Hate The Hook-Up
Want to support black entrepreneurs? Stop hitting them up for freebies
By Alfred Edmond, Jr. - December 03, 2009
http://www.blackenterprise.com/blogs/2009/12/03/why-i-hate-the-hook-up
Stop me if you've heard this one. Richard, a black comedian calls his white friend: "Hey, Chad. Just wanted to let you know: I'll be in town next week to do a show. Hope you can make it."
Chad: "Really? That's great! What night is it? I'll call all of my friends and we'll pack the house! It'll be a blast!"
"Thanks, Chad!," says Richard. "It's on Thursday night. I'll see you then!"
Richard hangs up, excited about the prospect of a big night at the comedy club, which means more gigs. He then he calls his boy, Lamont. (What? You know he's black. How many white, Asian or Latino guys named Lamont do you know? Try to keep up, okay? Anyway...)
Richard: "Monty-Mont! Whassup? It's ya boy, Richy-Rich! Just hollerin' atcha to let you know that I got a gig in town next Thursday. You coming, right?"
Lamont: "Hell, yes, I'm coming! You funny as a mug! Shoot, I'll bring my girl, and tell her to bring her girls, and I'll get Antonio and Big Rob and Lisa to come and get the word out to their peeps, too!"
"Cool!," says Richard. He holds his breath. He knows it's coming.
"You gonna hook us all up, right?," says Lamont.
One of the biggest drags on black entrepreneurial growth and profitability is the "hook-up": black people expecting other black people to provide them with free goods and services just because they're black. We need to stop it. Today. NOW.
No, she can't hook you up with a few press releases and some public relations for your event.
No, he can't hook you up with a few signed copies of his book.
No, he can't hook you up with a quick shape-up so you can look fly at the club tonight.
No, she can't hook you and your momma and aunties up with free tickets to the fashion show.
No, she can't hook up a business plan for you real quick.
No, she can't deliver the dinner keynote without an honorarium, in return for two tickets at the head table for food she won't get to eat. Because she'll be speaking during the dinner.
No, they can't wash your car, pull your teeth, do your hair, fix your computer, edit your manuscript, paint your house, build your web site, etc. for free! Discount? Maybe. Complimentary services for referring new—paying—customers? Okay. An occasional freebie for long-time, loyal customers who always pay? Sure. Barter my goods or services for yours? We might be able to work something out. But, FREE? NO!
Hello? The point of being in business is to make money! How can entrepreneurs, and black business owners in particular, make money, if they're expected to give their products and services—which costs them money to create, develop, market and deliver—away for free? If you don't spend money with them, they can't spend their money with you. If you won't pay for your haircut, your barber can't pay to eat at your restaurant. If Leslie the auto dealer won't pay a competitive rate for wedding planning, Lisa the wedding planner can't afford to buy a car from Leslie. Money has to circulate in order for economic empowerment to happen and for black entrepreneurs to have a chance to compete and thrive. You don't support black entrepreneurs by showing up for the hook-up. You support black business by paying up.
When I find a black entrepreneur or professional who provides goods and services I like, I pay for those goods and services—period. I know that there are costs associated with providing a service and making a product, a cost they can only recoup by selling at a profit. I don't want them to hook me up with free stuff. I want to hook them up with my spending, because then they can really hook me up, by creating jobs, growing the local tax base, supporting community organizations, doing business with other black entrepreneurs and professionals—or just having enough money and a predisposition to reciprocate, to buy goods and services (like subscriptions to Black Enterprise) from me and mine. I want black entrepreneurs to make money. I want them to succeed. I want them to get more than rich. I want to see as many wealthy black entrepreneurs, families and communities as possible. So if I like what they're selling, I'm more than happy—I'm thrilled—to pay for it, and to tell all of my family, friends and associates how great they are.
Do you really want to support black entrepreneurs and black professionals? Stop hitting them up for freebies. If you believe in their products and services, pay for them, as you would for the products and services of any other business. If what they're selling doesn't merit that, why are you patronizing them in the first place? Do you really think you're doing them—or yourself—a favor?
Alfred A. Edmond Jr. is the editor-in-chief of BlackEnterprise.com
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Helping the Homeless for the Holidays Christmas CD (DO Foundation)
Are you looking for just the right Christmas CD to help you set that holiday mood? Well, I have the perfect solution! "'Tis The Season", which is a smooth and festive holiday CD compilation being offered by my friend, jazz artist...Brian Oneal. (Keyboardist for R&B/Jazz artist, KEM). Also featured on this project is my very own aunt, Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter, vocal arranger and vocalist, Verdena Taylor...(Or, "Polly", as she is known in music circles.) Proceeds from the sale of Brian's "'Tis The Season" holiday CD will go towards funding efforts of The DO Foundation, whose mission is to aspire to meet the needs of those in the homeless community. Just last Saturday, Brian and several volunteers from The DO Foundation handed out "Love Bags" to the homeless, in one of Detroit's more distressed neighborhoods. We, at The Do Foundation, prefer using a more direct approach in getting the help to those who, for various reasons, are either unaware of or choose not to seek help from some of the larger non-profits, charities, and churches.
So, please...Be sure to purchase your copy of "'Tis The Season, today!!!
Contact Verdena ("Polly") Taylor to make your purchase and make a difference!!!
pollytunes07@aol.com, www.myspace.com/pollytunes07, www.facebook.com/a.k.a.POLLY
http://www.dofoundation.net
http://www.brianoneal.com/holiday
Remember...Homelessness is real! But, YOU can DO Something!
Friday, December 4, 2009
In a Toxic Industry? Use It to Your Advantage: By Kelly K. Spors and Kevin Salwen
Thoughts from Jerome...
I was reading the following article, and it highlights some things I had never thought about before. Most of the time we tend to avoid industries and business models with bad reputations both as investors, entrepreneurs and consumers. This article gives some great tips on countering that and using them as a positive (http://smallbusinessanswers.yahoo.com/reputation-html).
Being in the direct sales and marketing business, this issue rears its ugly head at times. Two things I have found is customers either dont trust the integrity of the product, and potential business partners think you're going to get their investment and run, leaving them hung out to dry. I must admit, in moderation, skepticism is a healthy human emotion, which is birth out of a need for proof (and quite simply protecting ones pocketbook). We see it in religion, science, sales, marketing, etc...
However skepticism and stereotyping can also rob people of something great being added to their lives. For example, my product allows people to be able to see their loved ones without buying plane tickets, road trips, or hooking up web cams (which many relatives my not know how to anyway). My kids can talk to and see their grandparents every night, it has added a value to my life that I cannot put a price on.
However when marketing the product, there are those who are skeptical. Not because it doesn't work, we clearly demonstrate that it does, both as users of the product ourselves and our existing (and growing) customer base. Its also not because they don't trust the company (the manufacturer has been in the Inc 500 for 5 consecutive years, including this year). I have found that some simply don't trust the direct sales marketing model. If this product were in the stores, I believe, people would buy them in droves, because people tend to trust the store bought products more than ones directly sold to them. This is a false trust because many of the products in the stores today were sold using a direct sales model yesterday to create a demand, then placed in stores once they demonstrated that people really wanted this product. Sort of like the independent music artist hawking his own Cd's from his trunk in the parking lot. He creates a demand and buzz for his music, then gets the record deal later (I can think of several artists who have used this exact method).
This model eliminates real estate overhead costs, advertising costs, and shoplifting, and many companies benefit from it. Unfortunately, people think back to the days when soda was sold as a medicine/tonic claiming to be a cure all for various ailments. But we must somehow turn negative stereotypes into an opportunity.
How have YOU overcome negative stereotypes in your area of business? Please read the article and post your thoughts below! (The posting problem should be resolved now)
Jerome Chandler,
5Linx National Expansion Leader
Owner/Operator of House Call Solutions
*********ARTICLE*********
http://smallbusinessanswers.yahoo.com/reputation-html
In a Toxic Industry? Use It to Your Advantage
By Kelly K. Spors and Kevin Salwen
Call them the Tarnished Trades of the business world: Industries with such significant image problems that customers' first reaction is to grip their wallets in panic. Buyers just pray for an honest deal -- any honest deal.
You know the reputations, right?
Auto-repair shops: Under-the-hood rip-off shops, really. They prey on your ignorance to encourage repairs you don't need.
Dog breeders: Woof. Puppies are stuck in filthy, cramped cages all day long. No wonder they’re sick and inbred.
Remodelers: You'd rather hammer your thumb than deal with some of these. Work is shoddy, and good luck finding one that finishes a job on time.
Real-estate brokers: Just milking you for the biggest commission they can get. Will they ever stop hounding?
Moving companies: Buy the extra insurance in case your stuff gets ruined ... or disappears completely.
Bill collectors: Don't answer the phone. Hopefully they won't bat down your front door.
Morticians: Overpriced urns and preying on the grieving. The survivors get buried with ridiculous bills.
Accident lawyers: Ambulance chasers. Hurt? Injured? We need your fees!
Home-cleaning services: Good luck getting them to show up when you ask them to. Wait, where's my iPod?
And those are just some of the industries plagued with bad perceptions -- many others fight them, too. Company owners and employees in these businesses battle huge negatives convincing wary customers they are safe.
But if you're unlucky enough to be in one of these industries, you can actually use the ugly reputations to your advantage. In fact, this bad image can be a primo opportunity to stand out from the pack. Just think about the car business, where Carmax was created with the model that it's the used-car dealer that won't leave you feeling slimy. An honest player in a business that's routinely the brunt of jokes can quickly become the White Knight, sometimes even just by being mediocre because the comparisons are so ugly.
So what can you do? First, realize you have a powerful tool at your fingertips: The Internet. Consumers are using the Web in droves to read up and leave reviews of companies. A 2007 study by Deloitte found that about two-thirds of consumers read online reviews regularly and, of those, about 80 percent rely on those comments when making purchase decisions. "If nothing else, make yourself aware that there is a conversation going on," says Matt McGee, a small business search marketing expert in Tri-Cities, Wash.
There are plenty of opportunities in the physical world, too, to make your reputation shine - you just have to listen a little closer to what customers are saying.
Here, then, is a three-step plan to manage your company's reputation.
PREVENTION FIRST
The backbone of a company’s reputation, of course, is quality service. Fewer customers with bad experiences will result in fewer bad reviews. Your happiest clients will become your best marketers with their word-of-mouth reviews.
So don't overlook basic good practices: hire the right people to deal with customers and then train and empower those people to solve customer problems.
Companies with the best reputations tend to closely monitor their customer experiences using follow-up surveys and other feedback tools so they can address service problems early, says Ben McConnell, an Austin, Texas-based marketing expert.
This can be especially useful to companies in industries where bad reputations are the norm. Star Auto Authority, a Vernon Hills, Ill., auto mechanic with 22 employees and $2.5 million in annual revenues, is constantly trying to improve the experience at its shop.
A few days after a job, customers receive email surveys asking them to rate their experience. The survey results help the shop identify service shortfalls, as well as let Star Auto resolve problems before customers vent their frustrations online, says Angi Semler, director of operations. The company president personally calls customers who leave negative feedback. "There are people, when they are at our service counter, may not be satisfied but may not say anything," Ms. Semler says. The survey offers "them a chance to speak somewhat anonymously about their experience."
LISTEN CLOSELY
Even businesses with great service occasionally get bad online reviews. Sites like Yelp, Twitter, Citysearch and Yahoo! Local give consumers a louder voice than ever before - and these reviews often show up near the top in search results for a small company's name. (Terrifying translation: A bad review might be the first thing somebody reads when they search for your business.) Quickly spotting bad reviews and dealing with them can soften the blow.
Online tools such as Google Alerts let you easily track blog posts, news stories or Web comments where your company name or key employees' names pops up. It's a good idea, experts say, to have one person at a small business designated to reading the reviews and handling a company's online reputation.
What should a business do when it discovers a disparaging remark?
Andy Beal, chief executive of Trackur.com, an online reputation monitoring service for small businesses, says businesses can't ignore angry comments. When a business encounters a negative review online, it should leave a short response starting with a straightforward and genuine apology. Then it should note that bad experiences aren't common for the business and offer a phone number where the upset customer can call to talk about the problem and have it resolved.
Being apologetic in the public response –not defensive – will suggest the business cares about its customers. But Mr. Beal suggests trying to take the conversation with the disgruntled reviewer offline, to avoid fueling an angry back-and-forth conversation for everyone to read. "You want to just nip it in the bud," he says. "Offer a clear-cut apology and then take it offline."
CARVE THE CONVERSATION
Managing a reputation isn't just about thwarting and dealing with negative reviews. It's equally about creating positive ones.
Creating an online fan base helps ensure positive coverage of your business appears prominently in online searches or when people read up about you online. You can start a "fan page" or "group" on Facebook, or simply connect with customers and prospects using Twitter and other social-networking sites.
Review sites can also be used to your advantage to create more good publicity. Many businesses now direct their happiest, most loyal customers to the most influential review sites in their industry and ask them to leave feedback.
Ramon De Leon, operating partner of a six-store Domino's Pizza franchise in Chicago, uses Twitter to find customers talking about Domino's Pizza in the Chicago area and then communicates with them and offers them discounts on pizzas. He uses Twitter apps such as Monitter to keep track of what Chicago-based Twitter users are saying about Domino's.
Mr. De Leon says being active on Twitter has helped draw in more customers. "When the need arises to buy a pizza, hopefully that friendship will make me top of their order list."
I was reading the following article, and it highlights some things I had never thought about before. Most of the time we tend to avoid industries and business models with bad reputations both as investors, entrepreneurs and consumers. This article gives some great tips on countering that and using them as a positive (http://smallbusinessanswers.yahoo.com/reputation-html).
Being in the direct sales and marketing business, this issue rears its ugly head at times. Two things I have found is customers either dont trust the integrity of the product, and potential business partners think you're going to get their investment and run, leaving them hung out to dry. I must admit, in moderation, skepticism is a healthy human emotion, which is birth out of a need for proof (and quite simply protecting ones pocketbook). We see it in religion, science, sales, marketing, etc...
However skepticism and stereotyping can also rob people of something great being added to their lives. For example, my product allows people to be able to see their loved ones without buying plane tickets, road trips, or hooking up web cams (which many relatives my not know how to anyway). My kids can talk to and see their grandparents every night, it has added a value to my life that I cannot put a price on.
However when marketing the product, there are those who are skeptical. Not because it doesn't work, we clearly demonstrate that it does, both as users of the product ourselves and our existing (and growing) customer base. Its also not because they don't trust the company (the manufacturer has been in the Inc 500 for 5 consecutive years, including this year). I have found that some simply don't trust the direct sales marketing model. If this product were in the stores, I believe, people would buy them in droves, because people tend to trust the store bought products more than ones directly sold to them. This is a false trust because many of the products in the stores today were sold using a direct sales model yesterday to create a demand, then placed in stores once they demonstrated that people really wanted this product. Sort of like the independent music artist hawking his own Cd's from his trunk in the parking lot. He creates a demand and buzz for his music, then gets the record deal later (I can think of several artists who have used this exact method).
This model eliminates real estate overhead costs, advertising costs, and shoplifting, and many companies benefit from it. Unfortunately, people think back to the days when soda was sold as a medicine/tonic claiming to be a cure all for various ailments. But we must somehow turn negative stereotypes into an opportunity.
How have YOU overcome negative stereotypes in your area of business? Please read the article and post your thoughts below! (The posting problem should be resolved now)
Jerome Chandler,
5Linx National Expansion Leader
Owner/Operator of House Call Solutions
*********ARTICLE*********
http://smallbusinessanswers.yahoo.com/reputation-html
In a Toxic Industry? Use It to Your Advantage
By Kelly K. Spors and Kevin Salwen
Call them the Tarnished Trades of the business world: Industries with such significant image problems that customers' first reaction is to grip their wallets in panic. Buyers just pray for an honest deal -- any honest deal.
You know the reputations, right?
Auto-repair shops: Under-the-hood rip-off shops, really. They prey on your ignorance to encourage repairs you don't need.
Dog breeders: Woof. Puppies are stuck in filthy, cramped cages all day long. No wonder they’re sick and inbred.
Remodelers: You'd rather hammer your thumb than deal with some of these. Work is shoddy, and good luck finding one that finishes a job on time.
Real-estate brokers: Just milking you for the biggest commission they can get. Will they ever stop hounding?
Moving companies: Buy the extra insurance in case your stuff gets ruined ... or disappears completely.
Bill collectors: Don't answer the phone. Hopefully they won't bat down your front door.
Morticians: Overpriced urns and preying on the grieving. The survivors get buried with ridiculous bills.
Accident lawyers: Ambulance chasers. Hurt? Injured? We need your fees!
Home-cleaning services: Good luck getting them to show up when you ask them to. Wait, where's my iPod?
And those are just some of the industries plagued with bad perceptions -- many others fight them, too. Company owners and employees in these businesses battle huge negatives convincing wary customers they are safe.
But if you're unlucky enough to be in one of these industries, you can actually use the ugly reputations to your advantage. In fact, this bad image can be a primo opportunity to stand out from the pack. Just think about the car business, where Carmax was created with the model that it's the used-car dealer that won't leave you feeling slimy. An honest player in a business that's routinely the brunt of jokes can quickly become the White Knight, sometimes even just by being mediocre because the comparisons are so ugly.
So what can you do? First, realize you have a powerful tool at your fingertips: The Internet. Consumers are using the Web in droves to read up and leave reviews of companies. A 2007 study by Deloitte found that about two-thirds of consumers read online reviews regularly and, of those, about 80 percent rely on those comments when making purchase decisions. "If nothing else, make yourself aware that there is a conversation going on," says Matt McGee, a small business search marketing expert in Tri-Cities, Wash.
There are plenty of opportunities in the physical world, too, to make your reputation shine - you just have to listen a little closer to what customers are saying.
Here, then, is a three-step plan to manage your company's reputation.
PREVENTION FIRST
The backbone of a company’s reputation, of course, is quality service. Fewer customers with bad experiences will result in fewer bad reviews. Your happiest clients will become your best marketers with their word-of-mouth reviews.
So don't overlook basic good practices: hire the right people to deal with customers and then train and empower those people to solve customer problems.
Companies with the best reputations tend to closely monitor their customer experiences using follow-up surveys and other feedback tools so they can address service problems early, says Ben McConnell, an Austin, Texas-based marketing expert.
This can be especially useful to companies in industries where bad reputations are the norm. Star Auto Authority, a Vernon Hills, Ill., auto mechanic with 22 employees and $2.5 million in annual revenues, is constantly trying to improve the experience at its shop.
A few days after a job, customers receive email surveys asking them to rate their experience. The survey results help the shop identify service shortfalls, as well as let Star Auto resolve problems before customers vent their frustrations online, says Angi Semler, director of operations. The company president personally calls customers who leave negative feedback. "There are people, when they are at our service counter, may not be satisfied but may not say anything," Ms. Semler says. The survey offers "them a chance to speak somewhat anonymously about their experience."
LISTEN CLOSELY
Even businesses with great service occasionally get bad online reviews. Sites like Yelp, Twitter, Citysearch and Yahoo! Local give consumers a louder voice than ever before - and these reviews often show up near the top in search results for a small company's name. (Terrifying translation: A bad review might be the first thing somebody reads when they search for your business.) Quickly spotting bad reviews and dealing with them can soften the blow.
Online tools such as Google Alerts let you easily track blog posts, news stories or Web comments where your company name or key employees' names pops up. It's a good idea, experts say, to have one person at a small business designated to reading the reviews and handling a company's online reputation.
What should a business do when it discovers a disparaging remark?
Andy Beal, chief executive of Trackur.com, an online reputation monitoring service for small businesses, says businesses can't ignore angry comments. When a business encounters a negative review online, it should leave a short response starting with a straightforward and genuine apology. Then it should note that bad experiences aren't common for the business and offer a phone number where the upset customer can call to talk about the problem and have it resolved.
Being apologetic in the public response –not defensive – will suggest the business cares about its customers. But Mr. Beal suggests trying to take the conversation with the disgruntled reviewer offline, to avoid fueling an angry back-and-forth conversation for everyone to read. "You want to just nip it in the bud," he says. "Offer a clear-cut apology and then take it offline."
CARVE THE CONVERSATION
Managing a reputation isn't just about thwarting and dealing with negative reviews. It's equally about creating positive ones.
Creating an online fan base helps ensure positive coverage of your business appears prominently in online searches or when people read up about you online. You can start a "fan page" or "group" on Facebook, or simply connect with customers and prospects using Twitter and other social-networking sites.
Review sites can also be used to your advantage to create more good publicity. Many businesses now direct their happiest, most loyal customers to the most influential review sites in their industry and ask them to leave feedback.
Ramon De Leon, operating partner of a six-store Domino's Pizza franchise in Chicago, uses Twitter to find customers talking about Domino's Pizza in the Chicago area and then communicates with them and offers them discounts on pizzas. He uses Twitter apps such as Monitter to keep track of what Chicago-based Twitter users are saying about Domino's.
Mr. De Leon says being active on Twitter has helped draw in more customers. "When the need arises to buy a pizza, hopefully that friendship will make me top of their order list."
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