Small Business Profit Maximizer!

Creating Emotions

You’ll be surprised on how much people’s emotions influence them when they are buying things. I have mentioned numerous times before that people are not just buying a product; they’re buying a solution or something that touches their emotional needs.

So what I propose you do is explore your creative side and position your top-selling items.  Write a sales pitch that gives your customer an emotional and visual sell. Show them how your product or service will make their lives just that much better.

I’ll even give you some examples:

Product: A Minivan

Pitch: Imagine you’ll finally have a safe, reliable car that will fit everyone and keep all the kids entertained with the Blu-ray player in the back. All your kids can have their own personal space, which will eliminate a lot of arguments. You will have room to store your groceries, and it can just make traveling a whole lot easier. Plus, if you look at the numbers, this minivan is more economical than an SUV. You can use that extra money to go out, plan a trip, and not have to worry about a high car payment. All of the features are designed to make your life easier. With the push of a button, you can open the sliding door so when your hands are full with a sleeping kid, you won’t have to wake them up to put them into the car. We are even having great financing deals right now. If you like, after the test drive I can go over them with you.

Product: Cell Phone Case

Pitch: I was noticing that you don’t have a cell phone case for your phone. Right now we’re having a sale on our case for $9.99. It’s a lot cheaper than replacing your phone. We have heard so many horror stories from customers that have dropped their phones or have spilled drinks on them. They end up having to pay full price on a new phone or look on Craigslist or eBay to find an affordable phone.  And even then, they spend a lot of money and the phone is used. They always buy a case after that. What kind of phone do you have?  I can check to see what we have.

You see, it can be that simple. Just create future scenarios that your customer will possibly face and show how your product will help them. You’re more likely to close a sale if there is that emotional link to the product and your customer.

Keep an Open Mind

The other day I was reading a marketing book, Getting Business to Come to You, and one of the sentences started: “One of the serious issues we face in the 1990’s,” that just stopped me in my tracks. I first thought, “How old is this book?” and I almost put it down. As I thought about it, I told myself that I need to keep an open mind, there may still be some valuable marketing ideas in here and I continued reading.

Marketing may change the way you reach your customers or there may be new tools you can use; but, aside from that, the goals are the same - reaching your target market and getting them to buy from you. When I thought of what I could be missing out because of my narrow mindedness, I continued reading and actually found some good material for my next blog article and techniques I myself can use in my business.

When it comes to marketing for your business, an open mind will always get you far and open some doors to future customers.

Tips for Hiring Seasonal Workers

Many businesses need to hire seasonal workers to help them through those especially busy times of year, but just because seasonal workers are only going to be hired on a temporary basis does not mean that employers can be any less diligent in their hiring practices.  Here are a few tips to bear in mind the next time you need to hire seasonal staff: 

1. Be sure to determine your true requirements for seasonal workers so that the business is neither over - nor understaffed.
2. Remember that employment discrimination laws apply equally to temporary or seasonal staff as well as to permanent employees.
3. Encourage the right caliber of applicants by putting the same amount of time and effort into job descriptions and employee specifications.
4. Seasonal staff members need to be able to learn quickly and often need to be flexible and adaptable. Make sure that these qualities are stressed and that your sifting and interviewing processes are able to identify these key traits and abilities.
5. Seasonal jobs are typically stressful, so be sure to direct some of your interview questions at establishing how well candidates are equipped to deal with stressful situations.
6. Always check references and carry out background checks on seasonal or temporary workers.

New HR Software to Trawl Social Networking Sites

Career experts frequently issue warnings to job seekers to “clean up their act” and remove any inappropriate content or images from social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn before they are found by prospective employers who run their own unofficial background checks on candidates.  It is not just job seekers who need to be wary, but also existing employees who are keen to keep a squeaky-clean professional reputation. 

Having spotted the trend of recruiters prying into the private lives of their current or future staff members, a start-up company in the U.S. has developed a software program to make HR’s job easier by searching social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and so on for “negative characteristics.”  The software alerts the user to any suggestion of drug use, gang membership or other examples of poor judgment, allowing HR to quickly and easily identify candidates they might consider to be unsuitable.  

And the new software does not just help HR staff to investigate the antics of potential candidates.  The company is also offering a service that allows ongoing scans of social media sites to take place on existing staff members and real-time notifications of anything untoward to be delivered to managers. 

If your profiles on Facebook and similar sites contain anything that you wouldn’t want your boss to see, now might be a good time to clean up your own act and activate those privacy settings!

Performance levels low? Ask this question

Are your workers consistently blowing it? Do you sense they are the most unmotivated workers on the planet? 

It’s true that there can be many reasons for lack of motivation in the office, and it’s up to you to root out the problem. Here is a list of questions to ask yourself about how your office is run: 

• Are promises made and not kept? 

• Are raises and rewards always just around the corner? 

• Is the management hypercritical, without really understanding what the workers are doing? 

• Has an “us” versus “them” culture formed. 

• Is the office equipment valued more than the employees?

• Is there a company line that employees are probably rolling their eyes at? 

Once you figure out what’s going on then you can go to work on eliminating the offending practices or you can try to improve on OK but imperfect behaviors.

Will I Still Have to Pay a Penalty on My 2016 Tax Return If I Didn’t Have Health Insurance Last Year?

President Trump signed an executive order on the day he was sworn in directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the heads of all other executive departments to use the authority and discretion they have under the law to waive, defer, or grant exemptions from any cost, fee, tax penalty, or regulatory burden on individuals and businesses.

So what does this mean for individuals when filing their 2016 income tax returns?  At this moment, it is unlikely that the order will affect the Excess Premium Tax Credit Repayment on 2016 returns, but it may be easier to get an exemption approved for the Shared Responsibility tax.

The Excess Premium Tax Credit Repayment is easily the largest penalty a taxpayer could face if they purchased health insurance through the Marketplace.  You may have to repay the total advanced premium credit you received if your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) exceeds 400% of the federal poverty level (FPL).

Many taxpayers are surprised by this penalty.  In their minds, they purchased health insurance as required, paid the premiums they were billed, and now they have to pay it back!  Yes, if your income on your tax return is higher than the amount you stated on your health insurance application, you will have to pay back all or a portion of the subsidy you received.

If your income is less than 400% of the poverty level, your repayment is capped at $1,275 for single taxpayers and $2,550 for married couples and heads of households.  If your income is over 400% of the poverty level, you will have to repay 100% of the excess premium.

Does the executive order give HHS the authority to tell the IRS not to collect the excess repayment penalty based on the penalty causing a financial burden on the taxpayer?  This is not clear at this time, and probably won’t be clear before you have to file your tax return.

The Shared Responsibility Payment penalty (better known as the individual mandate) is a tax on those who do not have health insurance and do not qualify for an exemption.  Based on the executive order, it should be easier to get an exemption to this tax based on general hardship or an exemption claiming that the coverage was not affordable under the smallest of excuses.  But we really won’t know until HHS and the IRS issue new rules based on the new executive order.

So what should the taxpayer do if they are subject to either of these taxes?  I will be recommending to my clients that they file an extension and wait for the new rules to shake out.

Of course, there are a couple of reasons you may want to file your return now and amend later when HHS and the IRS issue new rules.  First, you should file if you are still getting a refund after the penalty and need your money now.  Second, if you owe a tax payment with your return, you should consider filing and paying the tax in order to limit non-payment penalties and interest on the balance due.

As always, stay in touch with your tax preparer and keep an eye out here for further developments.  2017 promises to be a year with many changes for taxpayers.

In an Ideal World

In an ideal world, all you would have to do to generate profits is open a business and have an overflow of eager customers banging on your door. In an even more ideal world, you would have someone on staff that could handle all of your marketing and had an in-depth understanding of consumer behavior. In the real world, business owners have to work on luring customers to their business, and most small businesses can’t afford marketing magicians to be on staff.

So what are you left to do? Educate yourself! Ideally, if you were able to take one day a week to just focus on marketing, learning new concepts, implementing marketing strategies, and anything else related to marketing your business, you would undoubtedly increase your profits! If you can’t devote a whole day, a few hours a week will still do wonders.  That is still more time than what you are currently spending.

 

A Little Appreciation Goes a Long Way

I have met with different business owners and they always mention that they don’t know how to motivate their sales staff. They have trained their staff, but their staff just doesn’t seem motivated to go the extra mile.

If you don’t have a structured commission plan (money is always a great motivator), there are other ways to motivate a sales staff.  One option is rewarding your sales staff for increased monthly sales. Take your staff out for dinner or have a party to congratulate them for their work. A little friendly competition also works well. Track each sales staff member and give prizes to your top salesperson. Something as little as a $40 gift certificate and bragging rights can really boost your staff’s motivation. I have seen other business owners have daily and/or weekly sales meetings that go over sales strategies and praising of employees for specific occasions where they went above and beyond the call of duty.

Acts of gratitude show your sales team that you appreciate their efforts and acknowledge their hard work. You will have to be consistent when it comes to these types of rewards, because as soon as you drop the ball, so will your staff! Also, you want to be clear on what you’re rewarding and how you will be measuring sales.  And remember, not everyone is meant for sales. If you see that someone is just not able to make the sales goals, you may want to talk to them and decide if a sales job is the right fit for them. They may do better in another position in your company.

Be creative and think of things that would motivate you if you were in your staff’s shoes.

Encourage Improvement Before Firing

Replacing staff is an expensive business.  Not only are there the advertising costs to consider and the time required of hiring managers and HR functions to put together job descriptions and required qualifications, carry out endless sifts of potential candidates and conduct interviews, but sometimes expenses related to training a new hire are exorbitant. 

Of course, sometimes the need to fire an employee will be an immediate one, such as if a worker is caught stealing from his or her employer or takes an action that jeopardizes the safety of other employees. Where this is the case employers typically have little choice but to suffer the loss and carry out the dismissal anyway.  In many more cases, however, firing comes as a result of an employee’s under-performance, and here it is important that employers ensure that they have done everything possible to help bring the individual up to speed before showing them the door.  

Ideally, of course, every worker’s performance should be monitored and evaluated on an ongoing basis, but especially where it is identified that the individual is not performing to the required standards, it is essential that he or she is made aware of the situation and provided with regular and relevant feedback to help get back on track.  If the worker cannot or will not make any improvement, then dismissal may, once again, be the only option, but it is certainly in everyone’s best interests to aim for improvement first and fire later.

 

Do You Have a Social Media Policy in Place?

While there are some downsides to allowing the use of social media in the workplace, many of today’s more progressive companies would agree that these are outweighed by the benefits.  After all, having an entire workforce batting for your team, building your brand and increasing your reputation as an employer of choice can provide a significant competitive edge. 

Mitigating the risks of allowing open access to social media sites is, however, important if employers are not to be faced with decreased productivity, sharing of confidential information, compromise of intellectual property rights or damage to the organization’s reputation.  Companies can have their cake and eat it too if they ensure that they have a social media policy in place that every worker has agreed to.  Here are just some of the things to think about including in yours: 

• Whether any personal use of social media sites is acceptable, and if so, how much 

• Which sites staff may access 

• What constitutes appropriate and inappropriate content 

• What the consequences are of posting illegal or inappropriate content 

• What measures employees are expected to take to protect the company’s IT system from security risks 

• What employees are expected to do to preserve the company’s reputation, promote its image and maintain good business relations 

• How the use of social media is monitored and enforced.

Avoid My $5,000 Mistake!

During a recent phone conversation with a long-time business friend I discovered a mistake I made that cost me $5,000 in sales last year.  To be honest—my mistake most likely cost me more like $35k since my average new client stays with us an average of seven years (and many stay much longer).

During the call with my friend I happened to mention that I was swamped doing year-end tax planning. Especially with the new tax planning clients we had picked up.  He acted surprised and said he wished he knew I was taking new tax planning clients because he had a customer who seriously needed help.  Adding the tax planning engagement and the preparation fee for preparing his tax returns I estimated that failure to refer cost me about $5,000.

At first, I was irritated that he didn’t refer the customer to me.  But then I realized that it was my fault—not his!  I had never asked him for referrals!!!

Immediately I thanked him for thinking of me and told him I of course would help his clients cut their tax bills.  So please refer them in the future. 

Lesson learned—don’t just ask your customers for referrals.  Don’t forget to ask for referrals from your business friends & acquaintances who deal with your potential customers. 

A New Approach to Short-Term Sick Leave

Although it might be tempting to think that long-term sick leave is the more disruptive in the workplace, in fact it is typically the shorter periods of unscheduled absence that create havoc.  With an estimated 50% of all employee absences being taken for reasons other than genuine illness, employers can face thousands of hours of lost time and productivity. 

Companies have tried various different schemes to encourage their staff to take fewer short-term absences, but two have met with particular success.  The first is what is commonly referred to as the “no fault” system, which involves employees being allocated a predetermined number of days for unscheduled absences to be used at the worker’s discretion.  The employer does not take account of the reason for any absence, but once an individual’s allocation is used up, the employer is free to take any disciplinary action considered to be appropriate. 

The second scheme involves offering a specific number of days of paid time off, including vacation, personal and sick leave.  The staff member is at liberty to use these days at will, including allocating all of them to vacation time.  This is particularly effective because most people would rather dispense with those odd days of “sick” leave and take a bona fide vacation instead.

 

Can your job be saved? Watch for these warnings

You don’t expect to get fired, but the warning signs may be out there. You just need to know where to look. Here are some hints that your job isn’t as secure as you thought:

• You’re no longer in the loop. Does everyone else know what’s going on at your organization before you do? If your manager and co-workers all stop commu­nicating with you, the reason may be because they know you won’t be around much longer.
  
• Other people are getting promoted ahead of you. The guy who was hired six months after you is now your manager’s boss. You may have hit a wall and need to learn something new or sharpen your people skills.
  
• Your responsibilities have been cut in half. These days most employees have too much to do. If your key tasks have been assigned to someone new, the rest of your job may soon follow.
  
• People ignore your mistakes. Sometimes what’s worse than getting yelled at for an error is NOT getting yelled at for an error. That could mean that your boss isn’t planning on taking any more chances with you.
  
• Your manager wants you to sign off on everything. Most terminations call for a certain amount of documentation—your boss needs to show that he or she did everything right before letting you go. If you’re being asked to sign every memo or acknowledge each e-mail you receive, your manager could be creating a paper trail to justify a decision he or she has already made.

 

Are You the Reason Your Business Isn’t Growing?

The short answer is yes. If your business is not growing the way you want it to, it is almost always the business owner’s fault. The business, after all, is your creation. You decided what it looked like and how it would be run.

Many times, the business owner does not know the reason the business is not growing. But frequently it is the business owner who is deliberately slowing down growth. Usually, this is due to the business owner not feeling comfortable that they have the people and resources to grow the business to the next level.

I have personally been in the same situation where I felt I had to do all the work myself. I didn’t feel I could trust my staff to do it right! They didn’t have my experience, judgment, and ability to get the work done correct the first time, every time. And since it wasn’t their business, they didn’t care about it the same way I did. This led me to believe that the only way things were going to get done right was if I was the one who was doing them!

If this sounds familiar, you are not alone! This is one of the main complaints I have heard from business owners over the years. Here’s the catch though – if you want to have a growing business that provides quality to your customers every time, you have to create business systems that allows your business to function without you micro-managing every little detail. 

Over the last thirty plus years, I have read numerous business books attacking this from many different directions. This business growth series is a brief outline of items I have “borrowed” from these books that have worked for me and many of my clients and colleagues I have worked with.

In order to grow your business, you must master the following areas:

1. Managing yourself
2. Organizing your business
3. Hiring the proper people for the job
4. Create a strong, vibrant workplace where people want to work.
5. Setting employee goals and performing well-planned, organized employee performance reviews on a weekly basis.

Are you stunting your growth? If so, what are you going to do about it?

 

Controlling What You Say

Just recently I’ve come to the realization that most businesses don’t create their own marketing material or copy. They rely on ad agencies or the media production department to create their ads.

In my opinion, that is a big mistake. Don’t get me wrong; you can let them put the images and content together, but you should be writing the content in your advertising. You are the one that knows your customers and what they want to hear. Just provide your account representative with a few key phrases and focus points, and that should give them a good start in the right direction.

Many businesses make the mistake of creating ads that just concentrate on a sale item or the price. The customer needs to know why they need the item and why you’re the best place to buy it.

So take control of your ads! Make sure they don’t just sell the SALE and that they fit with your company’s goals.

Marketing the 5 Ps

Marketers try to simplify marketing down to the 4 Ps.

In case you didn’t know the 4 Ps, they are Price, Place, Product, and Promotion.  Every business owner has or should have all of these things when in business:

• A product to sell at a certain price
• A place where they sell their product 
• Some type of promotion to get the customer’s attention.

Sounds easy, right?

I have always felt that marketers have left out a P – Psychology! Understanding your customer’s thought process when purchasing can really help you put a successful marketing plan together. The trick is to have all these Ps work together and communicate this with your customer.

I have seen business owner focus on just some of the Ps and expect to make tons of money. Marketing doesn’t work like that. Marketing is something that has to be researched, tested, and modified in order to see results. Marketing also has to be consistent. You can’t expect to run ONE ad and expect customers to flood your store and phones; it takes time.

Once a business owner knows which products to offer, what to price their products, where to sell, what their customers want to hear and how to reach them; they will have very successful marketing plans.

Anyone can start a business, but it takes a special type of person to understand how to run a successful business, and marketing plays a big role in that success.

Tips to Grow Your Financial Wealth From the Experts

Let’s look at what some of the experts have to say about financial growth in a healthy way. These tips could help you get started on the right path. 

1. Dave Ramsey author of "The Total Money Makeover” and the host of the "Dave Ramsey Show" says, “You must walk to the beat of a different drummer. The same beat that the wealthy hear. If the beat sounds normal, evacuate the dance floor immediately! The goal is to not be normal, because as my radio listeners know, normal is broke.”

2. Blain Reinkensmeyer principal at Reink Media Group, and business development on StockBrokers.com, says, “Cut your losses short. The ‘it'll come back’ mentality is dangerous. One great way to do this is through the use of stop loss orders. Don't fear them. Use them. They are your best friend.”

3. Suze Orman, motivational speaker, American author, television host, and financial advisor, says, “No one ever achieved financial security by being weak and scared. Confidence is contagious; it will bring more into your life.”

4. Dan Sugar, Instructor at Online Trading Academy, says, “Be patient and wait for the high probability/low risk. They are out there. Be like a predator/lion waiting in the brush and then pounce. You'll eat for a week.”

5. Clark Kendall, President and Founder of Kendall Capital Management, says, “A common mistake people are making in retirement planning is failing to diversify their investment strategy from a concentrated stock position. There is no reason why you can't diversify your risk when it comes to the stock market.”

6. Warren Buffett, American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist, says, “I will tell you how to become rich. Close the doors. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.”

The Best Tips on the Net for Financial Health for Everyone

Almost all of us want to get ahead – save for our retirement and lead a comfortable life, but we are not all dealt the same hand. Some of us have more disposable income than others. These tips are designed to help everyone reach their financial health, regardless of income.

A common mistake by novices is to ask, “What can I make on this trade?” rather than “What can I lose?” When looking at a trade, you must first ask yourself, “What is my risk?”

You do not need to start big ...go big or go home is the wrong mentality. Instead, start with small steps and over your life it will add up. Begin building your emergency fund with just $10 a month, Start to invest in the market place with just $50. The key is that you need to begin somewhere and beginning small is okay.

When you invest in what is comfortable, you will learn it is seldom profitable. Making money requires a level of risk. The final decision is made based on how much risk you are willing to take.

Individual traders need to manage their trades in the same way they would manage a business. You need to keep your expenses low and stay focused on improving your profit margins by developing more income streams and creating large cash reserves.

Always live under your means. You need to know exactly how much money you make every month and then learn to spend less than that. This takes it one step further than just living within your means. When you live under your means you will find that you have disposable income left to invest to make money for your future.

Success lies in not how much you invest but whether you even start to invest in your financial future.

What Is Good Marketing?

The other day someone asked me, “What is good marketing?”  I thought that was a really good question, and it can be answered in many different ways.

Many people may say good marketing is anything that gets people in the doors. That’s true to some extent, but there is more to just getting people to your door; it’s also getting them to buy. Getting them to buy is the hardest part of marketing.

In my opinion, that’s just one of the elements of good marketing.

I think good marketing starts with a plan. The plan should at least consist of:

• a list of all of your products and services
• a list of possible add-on and cross-selling products
• a description of each with a summary of what type of customer will need them
• what makes your business different
• how will you get your uniqueness across
• a thought-out and realistic budget
• a target market  
• a description of how you plan on getting their attention
• a filled-out promotions calendar  
• a training calendar
• a plan of attack

Once your plan is done, good marketing has to start. A plan is nothing if it’s not implemented!

And the last part to good marketing is keeping it going. Don’t get sidetracked. Marketing isn’t something that happens overnight; it will take time.

I hope this gives you a good starting point for creating your own good marketing.