Business can be conducted other than face-to-face.  There are many ways to communicate and conduct business without traveling.  There are also measures you can take to insure trips are more effective.  A business must realistically evaluate the options to determine what is best for the situation.

Here is a list of some of the possible alternatives to business travel.  (Some situations may require a mixture of the alternatives either simultaneously or at specific junctures in the process.)

• Video Conferencing
  • Via your private network
  • Via the Internet
  • Via a video conferencing service/facility
• Audio Teleconferencing
• Online Presentation
• Online Meetings
• Email
• Instant messaging
• Text Messaging
• Online Chat
• Hard copy (US Mail, overnight delivery, private courier service, etc.)
• One-on-One Phone Conversation (it sounds silly, but it is sometimes overlooked)
• Social Media

Preparing to “do business from home base” requires preparation and execution logistics.  It also necessitates a new set of precautions.  Here are some of the basic considerations and actions:

• Appropriate network speed and size
• Adequate network security
• Proper software
• Necessary equipment (video, quality speaker phones, headsets to filter out noise, cameras, etc.)
• Suitable spaces that are acoustically adequate for video conferencing or audio conferencing
• Training (equipment and procedures)

The old “tried and true” preparation actions for doing business are even more important when doing business without traveling and for making travel more efficient.  Some of those actions are:

• Research the other party (website, other internet sources, newspaper articles, financial report, and other appropriate material)
• Read ahead (the proposal, the past correspondence, any other background or appropriate information)
• Test equipment and/or line at least a day before it is to be used
• Know how to use the equipment or software
• Have a technical expert available – a life line
• Practice (on-line presentation, video or audio speech, etc.)
• Allow enough time for the meeting (people tend to think a video or phone meeting will not take as long as an in-person one, not necessarily – your time savings comes from not having to travel)
• Schedule multiple meetings or contacts if you do travel
• Be sure you have proper materials with you whether you travel or have a meeting online or by phone
• Be sure the right people do the traveling or are involved in the online interaction (do not involve unnecessary people in a video or phone meeting just because you can without having to incur travel expense)
• Send one or two people to a trade show/conference and have them provide the information to other appropriate staff.  Purchasing videos of the presentations may be an alternative to attending at all.

Travel is a way of life and business for commercial, non-profit, education and government entities.  However, current economic and security conditions require evaluation of travel practices and the implementation of alternatives.  It will take some effort to overhaul attitudes and procedures, but the results will be a more efficient and effective way of doing business.

I do consultations, research, radio interviews and meetings by phone all the time.  During a phone consultation or meeting I often have the other participants go directly to websites and help them walk through forms, understand procedures and find information expediting their ability to action.  Doing consultations by phone makes it affordable and possible for my clients to use my services.

So what does President’s Day mean to Small Business Owners?  Here’s a few thoughts on that:

• The bank is closed so there are no withdrawals or moving money around.  If you didn’t plan ahead you may have a problem.
• The post office is closed so if you have packages to mail you have to wait a day or use another shipping service.  You can’t pick up the package that was too big to leave in your PO Box.
• The IRS and state tax offices are closed so you can’t pick up those forms you need to finish your taxes.  Of course you didn’t realize this until you went to the office and pulled on the door and it didn’t open.
• The city and county offices are closed so you can’t get you building permit, renew your business license or get any information.  You wish you had remembered it so you would not have planned on doing it today.
• School is closed so, depending on the age of your children, you have to make other arrangements for them or have them home with you.  If you work at home this could be challenging.
• The library is closed so if you planned to do research or use one of their tables to work in a quiet place (away from home where your children are since they are out of school) you have to make a new plan.
• The coffee shop where you hold many of your business meetings is full because the people who are off today are out shopping (President’s Day Sales) and decide to treat themselves to a latte.  There are no tables.
• You remember that President’s Day is a combined holiday celebrating the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  They are the presidents on one and five dollar bills.  This reminds you that with the slow recovering economy you are measuring your revenue more in these money denominations than in the one with Benjamin Franklin on it.
• Finally you decide to take advantage of the holiday.  You stop by the grocery store and pick up a carton of cherry ice cream (in honor of Washington).  Then you surprise your kids with the ice cream and spend an afternoon playing video games with them.

Today we think of a diet as a tool to help us lose weight.  But most of us realize that if the diet is solely to lose weight, the weight probably will come back once we are off the diet.  But if the diet helps you become healthier then the weight comes off, stays off and life gets better.

So if your Marketing & Sales plans and efforts are not moving you forward at the proper pace or at all, you need a healthier diet for them.

Here are questions you can ask to determine if your Marketing & Sales plans are healthy:

• Can I measure the results of my efforts and dollars spent (or do I even know what the results are)?
• Do my staff, partners, funders, etc. know what results we need from Marketing & Sales?
• When I make a change (i.e. new logo) or add something (i.e. on-line ads) do I have a specific result in mind (i.e. new revenue stream) or am I changing because it seemed to be time.
• Have I been able to realize new customers or revenue increases as a result of the time I spend on in-person and social networking.  Or to put it another way, are the people who “like” my company spending money with my company.
• Do I have an idea of the ROI (Return on Investment) for the Marketing dollars I spend? Remember that for a small business time = money, so be sure you include the time you spend on Marketing & Sales when calculating the cost.
• Are your Marketing & Sales activities driven by someone else – competitors, trend setters, etc.? If they are, do those people know your business and do they have your interest at heart?

If you are not pleased by your answers to these questions, it may be time to put your Marketing & Sales plans on a diet.  Yes, it may be time to do some of the following:

• Reduce fat – if I am paying someone else to do my Marketing could I do it as well or better and save money?  Are there efforts or advertising I could spend less time and money on and not hurt my results?
• Increase fiber – Am I networking directly with my clients/customers and true prospects?
• Increase fruits and vegetables – Am I properly servicing my current clients/customers to maximize the revenue I receive from them and increase their loyalty?
• Get appropriate protein – Am I concentrating my Marketing & Sales efforts on the customers/clients that provide the bulk of my revenue?
• Limit desserts – Am I appropriately mixing the fun stuff with the have to do stuff so that my work life is balanced but profitable?

Most any business can benefit from increasing revenue without inappropriately increasing cost because that increases profit.  A healthy Marketing & Sales plan is a major component of a fit ROI.

Do you have a shadow that causes you to hide or hibernate?  Is there something that frightens you to the extent that you avoid it and cheat yourself and your business out of revenue, growth and success?

Here are some common “shadows” that frighten or at least stress Small Business Owners:

• Networking – Walking into a room full of strangers and trying to strike up conversations can be very unnerving.  When you don’t know anyone, you don’t know who you should talk with to promote your business.  You also don’t really know what to say because the situation has so many unknowns.  But you can decrease the stress of networking and increase the benefit by decreasing the unknowns.  Don’t just go to a networking session because there will be lots of people there.  Choose an event because it will have people at it that can purchase your product/service or provide you something you need – wisdom, experience, information on the industry of your customers/clients.
• Trade Shows & Conferences – Another situation that is full of strangers.  Do you strike up conversations with other attendees?  If you have a booth, how do you combine the right amount of welcome and no-pressure sales pitch?  So often people pay the cost for a booth and then hide behind the table.  Maybe they are afraid if they step out from behind that table they will see their shadow.  And some people go to even greater lengths to avoid talking with the strangers walking through the trade show by talking on the phone, working on their computer, reading the newspaper or talking to another person in the booth.

My experience in small business consulting and training made me realize that networking and trade fairs are very important so I dedicated a whole Chapter with 13 Actions in my book 101 Winning Marketing Actions for Small Businesses.

• Subcontracting – Many Small Businesses, particularly woman owned businesses, do not take advantage of Subcontracting.  There appears to be a few typical reasons that this happens:

1. Some people see it as asking for help and are uncomfortable with that
2. Some are uncomfortable in relying on someone else
3. Some just do not know that Subcontracting is an option because they do not look outside their normal way of doing business

• Selling to Government – Too much trouble, they don’t buy my products/services and I don’t know how are the three most common reasons that Small Businesses do not pursue this line of business.  This is shadow that people shy away from when they really do not know how scary it is because they have never looked at it closely enough to truly see what it looks like.
• Asking for the Sale – Some Small Business people are so afraid that the answer will be no, that they never ask for the sale.  At least the groundhog does come out of his hole even though he knows that he may see something frightening.  Whether he sees his shadow or not, a decision will be made and he can move on to the surface or had back to bed.

The groundhog is afraid of his shadow, but there is a character in another story that has a totally different attitude about his shadow.  Peter Pan lost his shadow and did not feel complete without it.  He even went to great lengths to recover it.  So, which character and attitude will you adopt?

Have you ever seen someone and thought, “Obviously he/she does not have a mirror at home”? Well, let’s apply that to the marketing and sales image of your business.  If you hold it up to a mirror, would the image truly reflect any of the following:

• products and services you offer
• benefits you provide to customers and clients
• integrity and quality of you and your staff
• level of experience and expertise
• superiority of your customer service

If it doesn’t reflect all of those it might be time for a makeover.  Now by makeover, I do not mean a new logo, new brochures, a new website or a new customer management system.  Although any or all of these could be part of your makeover.

Makeover can be deep or it can be surface.  So if you look at the things in the previous list and you see something that is not up to the standard you want or need for it to be — then the makeover needs to be deep.  If the trait or asset is there, but your marketing and sales image does not reflect it, the makeover needed would be on the surface — cosmetic so to speak.

Does this sound like branding?  Well, yes, branding is part of it.  Actually branding is an outcome of the things in that list along with the other things that make a business what it is.  It has often been said that for a small business the owner is the brand.  When you think about the things in the list above and how they apply to your image they are usually reflections of the owner in a small business.

So hold that mirror up to your marketing and sales image and see how well the reflection matches the assets, values, quality, integrity and even personality of your business and you as the owner.  If you think you need a makeover, then take the steps to accomplish it.  You don’t want anyone thinking your business doesn’t have a mirror and does not know how it really looks to others — customers, clients, prospects and partners.

Once inside the stadium there was more capitalism and entrepreneurs.  There were several guys standing at the foot of the various stairs to the seating with small coolers filled with very tall beers at their feet.  There is a lot to be said for positioning.  Most of the food vendors in the stadium were set up in temporary arrangements; I’m sure their profit was pretty good in spite of the vendor fee they probably paid because they were charging $12 for a foot long corn dog and a hand full of fries and $4 for a bottled soda.  It helps to have a captive audience.

Of course there were the vendors selling commemorative items — t-shirts, hats, noise makers, cups, towels, coozies, etc., etc.  Actually there were commemorative items along the walk to the stadium, just outside the stadium and inside the stadium.  Somebody sold mini-poster with the score after the game.  Fans of the winning team snapped up the posters as they left the stadium; I must confess we bought one and I still haven’t figured out what to do with it.  And there were the two guys renting stadium seats that were made to specifically fit on the very narrow seats in that stadium.  Still not sure why people paid the $15 for those seats since most people didn’t sit in them except during half-time.

And the City showed its entrepreneur spirit too.  They charged $10 for parking.  I’m sure they charged the vendors outside the stadium some kind of fee.  And they have the good sense to host a bowl game which brings in lots of people eating, sleeping and doing fun things that all result in tax revenues.

What really makes me smile is that these entrepreneurs understand what their prospective customers want.  The t-shirt/hat vendors know that game attendees are likely to spend money at a game because of the emotional build up before the game or the exuberance of the win afterwards.   They aren’t selling t-shirts they are selling a chance to support your team.  The food, water and beer vendors understand that these items are part of the game experience.  If there were a vendor selling quiche beside the corndog and beer vendors, it’s not likely they would sell many slices of the egg pie.  And as I said earlier, a captive audience is going to spend money on the things like parking, food and comfortable seats regardless of how much they cost.  And those guys with the tickets, they offer someone the chance to get rid of something they can’t use, get something they desperately need — access to the game or something better — a lower/closer seat than the one you have.

But the best thing is that this is what makes our economy work.  People seeing a chance to earn money to pay their bills or improve their situation and making the most of it.   All of these entrepreneurs were meeting a need or a desire by selling a product or service; none of them were asking for a handout.  As I said — Entrepreneurs and Capitalism warm my heart.

It’s true, in the US we now have 5 seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall and Christmas or the Holiday Season.   Christmas decorations are now put up in stores while pumpkins and skeletons are still in evidence.  Santa shows up at malls the weekend after Halloween.

When do you put up your holiday decorations?  And when do you take them down?  I think that your Christmas decoration habits can give you insight into your personality and how it relates to your marketing habits.  Bear with me.

If you put your decorations up before Thanksgiving you may tend toward “showy” marketing.  You likely prefer events to one-on-one meetings.  You might use a power point presentation for a 10 minute talk.  You may be partial to promotional items.   None of this is bad – or good.  What is important is that you take into account your personality when you plan and execute your marketing.

If you always put your decorations up at the same time every year you probably like structure.  As far as marketing, you either don’t want to do it because it seems so ambiguous and not easily measured or you have a real plan and you work that plan and you are not happy when something gets you off that plan.  Structure is a good thing and having a plan is essential to marketing, but that plan should have room for occasional adjustments.

If you leave your decorations up for the twelve days of Christmas you may be English.  That is not good or bad either.  But it does mean you have to understand the American way of business, especially marketing, just as every successful business has to understand the way their customers and prospects react to various marketing methods.   If you are not English, you the following paragraph may apply to you.

If you leave your decorations up longer than twelve days after Christmas then you are either lazy or you have a hard time letting go.  Either one will get you in trouble if you treat marketing in the same way.   If you are lazy about marketing it will hurt your business.  If you hold onto a marketing activity or plan when it no longer serves a purpose or it has become non-effective you may as well not be doing marketing and save your money and effort.  Now if you say your decorations are still up because you are too busy to take them down – well that’s another problem.  If you feel the same way about marketing then you are cheating yourself out of business.

Now for those of you who say, “I don’t even bother with decorations!”  Not only are you a scrooge, you probably have stubbornly not seen the purpose of marketing and think it is fluff, just like decorations.

If you put your decorations up just a day or two before the holiday and then leave them up for weeks after the holiday you may be a procrastinator, not a believer in planning or just have bad timing.  If last minute is a way of life for you, you can make that work if you truly know your customers and prospects.  If you try to make up for being late by going overboard (providing too much information, profuse apologies, etc.) you may want to rethink that “I don’t need no stinking planning” attitude.

What are my decoration habits?  My husband and I put ours up about two weeks before Christmas and then take them down the day after Christmas.  Do I think this is the way everyone should do it?  No, but this is the way that works for my husband and I – it suits our personalities.   We are kind of “everything in its own time” people.   And by the way, I put a few decorations for Valentines Day, Easter, Halloween and Thanksgiving, ‘cause that suits my personality, too.

1)    Cast informed votes.   New for 2012  It is important for Small Business Owners to vote at all levels of government – national, state and local, but to do it after researching the candidates.  Small Businesses need advocates and champions in all areas of government, but not all candidates understand or are committed to actually helping.  Almost all candidates for any office talk about the importance of Small Business and brag about what they will do to help. In order to make an informed decision and to sift through all the fancy words and empty promises you have to do your own research and not rely solely on campaign material and media coverage.

2)    Be certain you know who your customers/clients are.  Carried over from 2011  Bankers and small business consultants say the biggest obstacle for all small businesses is that they do not really know who their customers/clients are.  If you are too general in the description of your customers (using words such as “all” or “every”) you will likely be too general in your message and not stimulate actual purchases.  If you do not bore down to specific customer/client types you will probably spend some of your time, effort and money marketing to the wrong people.  Look back at the misses and successes of the last two years and use that data to help you reassess your idea of your real customers/clients and prospects.

3)    Avoid the seduction of quick or easy revenue. New for 2012  If you have accurately identified your true customer/clients then do not be influenced by a prospect who wants to purchase something your do not sell, unless there are multiple, long-term prospects that offer revenue opportunities great enough to be profitable.  Also, be careful of consultants, contact data base providers and others who offer riches untold from their lists of decision makers and “qualified” opportunities.

4)    Understand that what you sell/provide is not what is important .  Modified from 2011.  Remember that you are not selling your products or services, you are meeting the needs or solving the problems of your prospects and clients/ customers!  Market your products/services in a way that addresses the needs, problems, wants and obstacles of your customers/clients.  Look at it from their view point. Speak their language.

5)    Follow Up and Follow Through  Carried over from 2011. The primary criticism of all small businesses by buyers (government and commercial) is that they do not follow up or follow through on promised actions and information.  How well a vendor follows up or follows through on promises is part of the test to determine if they will be a quality supplier.  Another reason follow up is so important is that old saying “out of sight, out of mind”; buyers say they deal with many vendors so they need for you to remind them that your business is still in operation and that you are still interested in meeting their needs.

6)    Stop begging and harassing. New for 2012.  As pointed out in the previous resolution Follow Up and Follow Through are essential; however, it is important not to cross the line into begging and harassing.   The difference is in the feedback or lack of it from prospects.  First you must be certain that they need or could benefit from your product/service.  If they can, but say they cannot afford it or offer some other reason for not purchasing, then you have to evaluate.  Is there enough of an opportunity to merit the time and effort to “overcome their objections”?  My mother used to tell me that too many reasons for not doing something start to look like excuses.  If you think you are hearing excuses instead of objections, it is probably time to move on to the next prospect on your list.  If it seems that you are begging or harassing then you have lost control of the sale.

7)    Get over the need to be the lead dog.  Combination of several past resolutions  Many Small Businesses miss opportunities because they are not willing or do not know how to take advantage of chances at part of a sale, project or contract.  Subcontracting and partnering increase your opportunities for revenue.  Do not limit your opportunities because you want to wait for your own contract from the big corporations or federal agencies instead of partnering with or subcontracting to another business.  An additional benefit is that not being the lead means you spend less time seeking business because the lead dog does most of the seeking.

8)    Put it in writing.  Carried over from 2011  I still see so many people suffer from not putting important things in writing.  If you put the specifics of every agreement and arrangement in writing you will save yourself time, money, agony and broken relationships.  Any partnering or subcontracting arrangement should be spelled out in an agreement and signed by all parties.  Any contract with a customer/client should include a Scope of Work/Services that clearly states what you will do, what the customer/client will do and the amount and schedule of payment.  All of this applies even if you know your partner, trust your prime contractor, think you understand the project/product requirements or believe in handshake agreements.  Things can happen that will alter the original circumstances – people leave, new factors arise, funds are delayed – and if you are not protected by having terms in writing, you could jeopardize your revenue and/or reputation.  If you are working with or for friends or relatives, putting conditions and stipulations in writing is just as important and sometimes even more so because it may save a relationship.

9)    Put your marketing plan on your calendar not the shelf.  New take on an all time favorite. You should develop a schedule of marketing actions, put them on your calendar and carry them out – just as you would any product or service development or delivery for a customer/client.  No matter how perfect your marketing plan is, if it sits on a shelf it does you no good.  If you do not schedule the actions in the plan and commit to completing them, they will keep getting pushed aside and maybe never done.  And we all know that if you do not market your business, you will eventually have no business.

10)  Research.  Important resolution for any year. Most of the previous resolutions require some research to carry them out effectively.  Research is an investment of time to insure that you find the right prospects, do the right thing, use the most compelling words, avoid pitfalls, minimize mistakes and reap the most benefits.  Think of research as a light, without light you will just blunder around in the dark.

It’s all about the angles

Woman and Minority Owned Businesses have a built in angle

Buyers need Woman Owned Businesses

Government agencies, education institutions and businesses of all types and sizes have determined that there are real benefits to using Woman Owned companies

You can never know too much about your customers/clients

Knowing how to use the woman/minority-owned status to advantage assists in targeted/focused Marketing.

Navigating the maze of resources and opportunities

There are so many resources, programs and certifications that finding the right information can be frustrating

There are no magic marketing formulas

Being Woman or Minority Owned does not make a business golden, but does add to their arsenal of Marketing tools.

Action #13

Guard against spending too much time on “getting ready” instead of “doing”.

When doing something that is scary, risky, takes a lot of time, seems overwhelming or is boring/tedious it is tempting to put it off by “getting ready”. Some common delay tactics that are easily disguised as preparations are:

• Buying supplies
• Making lists
• Getting others opinions
• Reading inspirational stories or articles
• Looking for an “easier” way
• “Finding” time

Whenever you are faced with something you know you should do to market your business and you find yourself struggling to get started or to make progress, ask yourself if you are postponing by pretending to prepare. To help yourself decide, plug your situation and your activities into one of the following examples:

Example A – Making a Dessert

You have to make a dessert for a pot-luck dinner. You really want to make something unusual and impressive. You look through your recipes, but you don’t find one that quite fits. You ask some friends for suggestions. You look online for just the right dessert. You visit a bookstore or library and look through several books. You call a local bakery and ask for suggestions and prices. Now you have so much information you can’t make a choice. Finally, the day before the event you pull out an old recipe you have used many times and rush to the store to get the ingredients. You prepare your tried-and-true dessert and take it to the pot-luck dinner. You are dismayed to find that three other people brought the same dessert. Your dessert certainly did not stand out, you wasted a lot of time and you have to take two-thirds of it home.

Example B – Building a Birdhouse

Your mother tells you she wants a birdhouse for Mother’s Day. You think that building one for her will make it extra special. You search online for plans or kits, but there are so many choices. For inspiration you visit a local gift store that sells birdhouses. You go to a local hardware store and talk with a sales clerk about materials and kits. You buy some materials and a blueprint; you take them home to get started. You wait a few days until you can find time to build the birdhouse, but you can’t seem to set aside enough time. Finally, the Saturday before Mother’s Day you go to the gift store and buy one of their birdhouses. When your Mom opens the birdhouse, she smiles and says, “My friend Ella has one just like this.”