25 Free Small Business Lessons

If you are seeking training for your existing business; or if you intend to launch a business, this article should prove helpful.

Here are 25 pillar small business development lessons I learned during the first five (5) years after launching my consulting firm Lemongrass:

1. Lift as you Climb and Stay Uplifted

You need balance.  Do not get so involved with volunteering to get your foot in doors that you neglect your cash flow.  Also, as you help others, be sure to do what it takes to stay positive, smiling and uplifted in spirit.

 2. “The more you reason, the less you create” – Raymond Chandler

Be sure that you are not spending your days with busy work.  For example, do not spend most of your time on filing, direct mail tasks, or social media marketing.  Automate and outsource.  Be sure that the bulk of your day is on serving customers and bringing in new business.  This means cold calls, emails, schedule visits, attending events, etc.

 3. You need to have Gumption! 

You need ready, quick willingness to take initiative and shrewd common sense.

4. Get away from dysfunctional people.  Surround yourself with supportive people.

5. Don’t go day by day. 

You need vision to see the week, month, year, and years at a glance.  List the goals that you want accomplished by the end of the week.  Envision yourself getting a nice reward for getting it all done.  This could be a nice fine dining experience and a spa treatment.  You can also vision checks coming in and bills getting paid.

Read more at: http://lemongrassplanning.com/25-free-small-business-lessons/

By Clovia Hamilton, President

Lemongrass Consulting Inc

Training on Sales

I am in an Executive MBA program at Wesleyan College.   I am amazed at how many business schools do not teach sales.  Regardless of whether or not we are in business, we all sell.  We sell ideas, knowledge, skills, abilities, products, services, etc.  Yet, I rarely come across business degree programs that include sales training.  There are MBAs and MBA students that cannot sell themselves well enough to get work – – how ironic!

I did a cursory search and found a class in Salesmanship at Devry.  Also, Ball State University has a Center for Professional Selling and offers a major in sales.  The classes and programs are few and far between.

There is also a shortage of free or affordable sales training offered by the SBA Small Business Development Centers and Department of Defense funded Procurement Technical Assistance Centers.  Many of the training and coaching programs offered by business trade organizations do not include sales training.

Read More and Join the conversation!

 

Small Business Hoarders and Fear of Lost Control

I enjoy the television show Hoarders. I love it when the troubled folks’ homes are transformed for the better. My mom (now deceased) was a hoarder. My brother and I would clean and put things in the alley; and she would go behind us and bring the items back in. It did not matter that some items were full of mildew or had other issues. Our home never looked like the homes featured on the show Hoarders. But, we had stockpiles of stuff stored everywhere. There are a lot of reasons my mom held on to things closely. She grew up poor; suffered a lifetime of losses; and she was a housewife with very few things she could call her own. It was always about not wanting to lose anything; power and control. For my mom, to lose things would be to lose apart of herself.

Hoarders and their struggle to change remind me a lot of struggling business owners. Well, I recently read Deborah Jeanne Sergeant’s article “Fear Means Failure” for the Home Business magazine March/April 2012 issue. She interviewed author Tom Rieger about how fear impacts home businesses. Tom Rieger talked about territorialism and empire building. Tom stated that territorialism is when someone exerts excessive control over budget, information, or employees. He stated that the fear of loss of that control is what drives these business leaders. With respect to empire builders, when they feel their empire is threatened, there is conflict.

Tom Rieger explained that people will do things to prevent the loss by erecting walls or holding onto processes – no matter what. Rieger stated that success requires change and to change you have to give up something. The lost is fearful.

I have had several business coaches and mentors. The best ones have urged me to get pass denial, get at the root of what fears me, and to be about making improvements. Change is tough. I have counseled business owners at the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center. The struggling businesses are led by folks that are in denial and are unwilling to make changes.

Some struggling business owners need to give up entirely. Some need reinvent themselves. Either way requires change.
What gets in the way? Some of the folks featured on the show Hoarders have stated they fear they will lose everything.

Here are some of the traits that hoarders have. If you are a small business owner, these are traits to beware of. Do a self assessment. Do you exhibit any of these traits?

1. Obsessive Compulsive behavior

a. Compulsive shopping

i.      obsessive need to acquire and keep things (in business it can be inventory, supplies, or tech toys)

ii.      keeps collecting

iii.      too attached to objects; believe that the stuff is apart of themselves

b. Hoard busy work

c. Hanging onto stuff – not delegating, not letting go

d. No limits are set

e. Think that all things have unsurpassable value

2. Depressed, Unhappy, Discouraged, Disappointed

a. Feeling let down
b. Letting others down
c. Use anger to control others and to get what you want
d. Have intense sadness

3. Confused
a. Lack direction
b. Lack focus
c. Lack clarity
d. Lack structure
e. Lack stability
f. Indecisive
g. Poor judgment

4. Babied
a. Don’t want to take responsibility
b. Not doing for self; looking to others to take care of them
c. Looking for others to say “clean that up”
d. Surrounded by enablers
e. In perpetual victim role blaming others

5. Overwhelmed
a. Under a lot of pressure, stressed
b. Have a lot of weight on your shoulders
c. Feeling that it is just too much to handle
d. Allowing things to get too out of control
e. Taking on too much
f. Completely disorganized; so cluttered (mentally and/or physically) that even the most basis tasks have become impossible

6. Low self esteem
a. Not caring enough about appearances
b. Not caring enough about hygiene
c. Minimize their own care, standards, and needs

7. Avoidance
a. In denial and do not see anything wrong; thinks everything is fine when it is not
b. Delusional, Desire to escape reality, living in a fantasy
c. Alienates oneself from the world of criticism
i. Lonely
ii. Isolated; little interaction with others
d. Not wanting others to see what is really going on
i. Ashamed
ii. Embarrassed
e. Not wanting to deal with tough issues
f. Showing no emotions, no responses about the bad situation
i. Keeps a tight leash on emotions
ii. Don’t allow themselves to have their emotions; push emotions away
iii. Avoid painful emotions
g. Just go with the flow; don’t get excited about things
h. Just don’t want to think about it
i. Don’t realize you are in a state of crisis; don’t realize how bad things are

8. Stuck, not moving forward
a. Emotional paralysis
b. Lost inside their own head
c. Don’t care anymore
d. No energy

9. Fear of losing memories of the good times

10. Hard and ugly
a. Hard to handle
b. Hard to take
c. Hard to be around, drives people away
d. Abusive, antagonistic
e. Extremely stubborn

Besides the show Hoarders, we see these traits in the business owners featured on shows like Tabatha and Kitchen Impossible.

Hoarders hoard control. Fear keeps them enslaved. They cannot picture someone coming in and telling them what to do. If you are a struggling business owner and you suffer from any of these characteristics, get help. You may not have a home or business establishment that looks like the extreme cases we see on the show Hoarders, but most struggling business owners exhibit some of the characteristics of hoarders. They need a business coach or mentor to help them push pass their fears. They may also need an organizational assessment, direction, clarity, leadership and organizational skills.

Our businesses are our babies. Our babies deserve the best. On the show Hoarders, when children are involved, the hoarder may be threatened with a call to child protective services. In a failing business, there is no such agency to call.

The struggling business owner may need to let go and cut losses by selling or closing the business. They may need to reinvent and make some changes. In business, we have to be able to feel distress and be able to push through distress. There is a lot of rejection in sales. Rejection is painful. You have to be willing to go through the anxiety. Connecting to people is what’s important – not to objects. You have to be able to focus on the big picture.

By Clovia Hamilton, President, Lemongrass Consulting, Inc.

Clovia founded Lemongrass Consulting in 2005 with nearly 30 years of government work experience and has served as a procurement counselor in the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC). Lemongrass Consulting provides strategic planning solutions including organizational assessments, government contracting strategic marketing plans, intellectual property, social media marketing strategic plans, and other services.

Contact Clovia at:
■ Web: http://www.lemongrassplanning.com/
■ Follow us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/lemongrass-consulting-inc.
■ Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lemongrassplans

■ LIKE us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LemongrassConsultingInc

Approaching Sales with Positivity – Building a 10 Step Sales System

If you have been following my online posts over the years, you know that my least favorite thing to do in business is sales. My favorite tasks are marketing, research, writing, and customer service. But, there’s one thing we all know for sure. Without sales, there is no business.

Another thing I know for sure is that if we keep telling ourselves how much we dislike something, we will never learn how to do it and we will never see the good in it. So, this year I have a new mantra. This year, I am determined to be a better sales person. My focus is shifting because I am reminding myself that:

• Sales is a way to connect with great folks and build great, long lasting relationships!
•  These folks have needs that our products and services can meet!
• Sales-Time is Fun-Time! Rah Rah!

The key for me is to make it a fun, social activity rather than drudgery.  This takes me back to when I was a kid and helped with a political campaign for a Chicago alderman.  I worked the phones.  I mailed things out.  What I enjoyed most was the whirl of activity and positive energy. So, I create a whirl of activity much like a political campaign room. Here’s how I do it:

• First, I start with my contacts list.
• Second, I visit the person’s website to see where we have synergy. I ask myself what products and services my firm offers that might help this person out.
• Third, if I am connected with the person online in Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter, I reach out to them for an appointment.
• Fourth, if I am not connected with the person online, I send them a friend request on Facebook, an invitation on Linkedin, and/or follow them on Twitter …and then, ask for an appointment.

Where’s the fun in this? The challenge is to “get in there”. Social media provides valuable access and a peep into my new friend’s world.

• Fifth, I schedule two mailings. On this day, I mail out a post card. I also print a customized cover letter, relevant flyers, a brochure, and business card to mail out 2 days following the post card. I prepare it and lay it in my desk calendar on the day that it needs to get mailed. I use a desk calendar that has loose daily sheets in a 3 ring binder.

So far, I have completed about 3 touches with this person.

• Sixth, I schedule a phone call for one (1) week out. The key for me is the scheduling. I use a form and list the folks that I need to call.
• Seventh, if I have not talked to the person yet, I make the scheduled call. Yes, it’s a sales call. But, no – it’s not a “cold call”. Now, it’s a “warm call”. Now, I feel ok about it because we know a bit about each other. I’m getting further in there!
• Eighth, I visit the person if they are local. I either meet them at their office or join them at a restaurant. I bring another packet of information and a promotional gift.
• Ninth, I send a thank you note card.

Now, I have completed 6 touches with this person.

I keep the system physically very organized. I have a long sales table in my office. It contains a contacts binder with my contact list. My table contains address labels, envelopes, presentation folders, stamps, post cards, brochures, flyers, thank you note cards, business cards, and promotional items (small candy filled jars, tea lite candles, mini-calendars). I’m ready to crank it out!

• Tenth, I send a retainer agreement. This is the 7th touch. I let them know that there is no obligation or pressure, but I would love to help them out. I list the products and services that are relevant to what we discussed.

My contacts database has about 7500 people and it grows whenever I attend trade meetings and other events. It also grows when I work on a sales campaign idea and build or buy a list of contacts that are ideal to pitch to. The key for me is to not feel overwhelmed by the numbers. I spend a few hours each morning on sales. I am usually up at 3am. I will buzz about, have fun, and plow through my list until coffee time at 6am. I do not really have a numbers goal. I just do as much as I can in 3 hours – which is pretty substantial.

The old saying is customers first, then sales first, then marketing. I am most energetic first thing in the morning. So, I do sales first. I reserve the 9 to 5 for work. Most of my marketing is online using social media and I do that at night from my bed. I write all of the government contracting bid proposals that are due the upcoming week on the weekend. I pick 3 to 5 to submit each week. Know your biorhythm and implement routines that work best for you and your lifestyle. But, be consistent and work on it every day. Having a sales system in place is also critical if you want to scale and grow. Now, you can easily train others to pitch in, follow your system, and help you with your firm’s sales.

What is your sales routine?

By Clovia Hamilton, President, Lemongrass Consulting, Inc.

Clovia founded Lemongrass Consulting in 2005 with nearly 30 years of government work experience and has served as a procurement counselor in the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC). Lemongrass Consulting provides strategic planning solutions including organizational assessments, government contracting strategic marketing plans, intellectual property, social media marketing strategic plans, and other services.

Contact Clovia at:
■ Web: http://www.lemongrassplanning.com/
■ Follow us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/lemongrass-consulting-inc.
■ Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lemongrassplans

■ LIKE us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LemongrassConsultingInc

How to improve your Influence?

My Klout score was 46 and is now 36. It dropped to 32 at one point. I wanted all of the bloggers’ posts that I routinely read to appear on my twitter site. So, I used twitterfeed to rss feed the blog posts. Well, my Klout score went down. What was even more frustrating was that only one of the bloggers that I essentially promoted did thanked me – referral sales guru Bob Burg. Well, when my Klout score dropped I started joining Twitterchats and it went up by 4 points.

I also posted my wordpress.com blog on my Twitter page to try to increase reads and comments on my blog posts. I think this hurt my Klout score. I have since changed that wordpress url to my firm’s website url. I will report on whether that makes a difference.

The topic of clout or influence is trending. It has had me reflecting on what truly makes a person influential. It makes me wonder if I am an influential person with clout; and who in my network has clout and influence. I also wonder if entrepreneurs like me are using social media to increase marketing, visibility, and sales; or are we really trying to become more popular, gain influence, and increase our personal clout.

I’m an academic analytic. With all of my research, I begin with definitions.

Merriam-Webster defines clout as pull or influence. The dictionary defines influence as power, force, and the exercise of command:

 an emanation of occult power held to derive from stars
 an emanation of spiritual or moral force
 the act or power of producing an effect without apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command
 the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways : SWAY

I like the word “emanate”. It makes me wonder what is emanating from me – what’s springing out, coming out, and coming across to others? I suppose one way to find out is to ask folks. We could ask image consultants. We could ask folks in our networks. I collect feedback I get online. All of it has been positive. Here are examples:

 You really get me going. Great motivation.
 Im so inspired by you & all that you do I’m inspired
 Happy Thanksgiving Clovia! You inspire me:)
 Dear Clovia, you always post value on Twitter and on Facebook. You are an example to follow.
 We need more people like you.
 Thanks for all you do!
 Thanks for your input. You are so very helpful.
 You have great style and the ability to communicate on the entrepreneur’s level.
 Thanks for the encouragement to stay focused!
 Thank you for the daily inspiration.
 I really enjoy your Social Media post. Thank you so much!!
 Clovia, I just followed you on twitter and checked out your website. Impressive…Thanks for connecting
 I follow you closely. I love what you are doing.
 You really do have it right and I’m glad that there’s someplace like Lemongrassplanning.com around to help people who realize that they need to set and manage goals, but maybe don’t know how.
 Thx for the free book. Lots of great insights & I didn’t know about Ping but am using it now!
 Happy New Year Clovia! Thanks for all the inspirational & motivational quotes.

If you are not studying what folks are saying about you, you probably should start. Collect the feedback and use Google alerts to see what might be stated about you that is not sent directly to you.

Lets get back to sales. Folks buy from who they come to know, like, and trust. So, perhaps you can influence a sale if you can get someone to if you cause someone click on a link and read an article; to comment on what you post; to click LIKE on your facebook business fan page; to click the + on the Google plus link; or to retweet and share what you post on Twitter.

Those of us in business know there is no direct correlation between the two. But, how much of a correlation is there between online social activity and sales?

Should there be a score for being inspiring, encouraging, motivating – rather than influential?

 

By Clovia Hamilton, President, Lemongrass Consulting, Inc.

Clovia founded Lemongrass Consulting in 2005 with nearly 30 years of government work experience and serves as a procurement counselor in the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC). Lemongrass Consulting provides strategic planning solutions including organizational assessments, government contracting strategic marketing plans, intellectual property, social media marketing strategic plans, and other services.

By Clovia Hamilton, President, Lemongrass Consulting, Inc.

Clovia founded Lemongrass Consulting in 2005 with nearly 30 years of government work experience and serves as a procurement counselor in the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC). Lemongrass Consulting provides strategic planning solutions including organizational assessments, government contracting strategic marketing plans, intellectual property, social media marketing strategic plans, and other services. Contact Clovia at:
■ Web: http://www.lemongrassplanning.com/
■ Follow us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/lemongrass-consulting-inc.
■ Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lemongrassplans

■ LIKE us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LemongrassConsultingInc

 

Don’t Rest on your Laurels – Have a Strategic Plan for Blue and White Collar Work

Many of my acquaintances have earned an education, landed a job, settle in, and rest. Some startup a company, get clients, and rest. Many of us have learned the hard way that this is the worst thing you can do. We have to keep our pipeline full of prospects and closed deals. I remind myself of this and work on it every day.

Even if you don’t want to own a business, prepare a startup business plan as a contingency plan to fall back on. Suze Orman advocates that we should all have 8 month emergency fund. It once took up 6 months to find a job. Now it could take up to 3 years. What is the likelihood that any of us could build a 36 month emergency fund. I have several friends that are getting crushed by not having a contingency plan.

We all know of folks that have lost jobs, lost profits, cannot carry payroll, lost homes, lost cars, and lost spouses over financial woes. Be strategic. Use strategic planning. Do a self SWOT. List your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Reflect on your knowledge, skills and abilities – both white and blue collar.

Recently, a professional acquaintance called me to ask for a job. I told him that I did not have a vacancy. He is a civil site engineer and there is very little work related to real estate site development. When we first started our firm, 70% of our work came from this arena. We did public outreach, permits, meeting facilitation, and zoning applications. The phone rang off the hook. We had to shift gears and draw on other skill sets.

This guy complained. He said he could not provide for his family and they were in a lot of trouble. I told him that he could indeed provide for his family. He simply needed to list all of the things he could do to earn money. I suggested raking leaves, trimming shrubs, cleaning cars, and teaching. He said that there was no way he could survive doing these types of jobs. I thought to myself, “how insane”. There are families surviving day in and day out off of blue collar work. He may not be able to keep his fancy car, fancy clothes, and fancy furnishings – but he could pay his rent and feed his teens.

This guy continued stating that his teens would starve. I said there is no way I would let my kids starve. I told him to go stand in a food line. He then claimed he did not know what that was. On that note, I told him I had another phone line to answer. At this point, I was dismissive. We all need clarity on how seriously poor the world economy is and what we will do to survive if all of our income goes away. If you have access to a phone and 411, you can find a food line. If you have access to a computer, you can google “food line”. No excuses.

Although my parents did not call themselves entrepreneurs, they were quite enterprising. I remember having bare cupboards once or twice – but most of the time we had plenty. We kept a garden in our back yard. Close to fall, we went to a farm and picked vegetables for the winter and stocked our freezer. We planned ahead. My dad had 6-8 people to feed with an annual income of about 30k from the post office. There were 6 of us and sometimes we had family that stayed with us. To make due, we sold used items at flea markets; we sold chicken and fish plates; we sewed; we babysat; and my dad did carpentry work. We had fun. We worked hard all the time. We hustled! When we needed to, we got in food lines and got our powdered milk and block of government cheese.

We bought from thrift stores and waited on our family and friends to give us hand-me-downs. I did not go to a mall until I was in college. We were more fortunate than a lot of our friends.

Never get too proud. Always have a handle on all of your blue and white collar skills – and local resources. Sell skills. Sell products. We sold without inhibition. Taking jobs make some of us lazy and risk adverse. Some folks simply do not want to work hard.

Someone recently questioned why I have so many profit centers. She asked why we offer so many services. Well, I believe that your niche should be a common denominator. Ours is strategic planning. But, under that umbrella, there are many things we can do to help our clients. So, we serve them up. We can offer business strategies – and if necessary, we can sew, cook, clean, paint, decorate, and garden in an emergency.

By Clovia Hamilton, President, Lemongrass Consulting, Inc.

Clovia founded Lemongrass Consulting in 2005 with nearly 30 years of government work experience and serves as a procurement counselor in the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC). Lemongrass Consulting provides strategic planning solutions including organizational assessments, government contracting strategic marketing plans, intellectual property, social media marketing strategic plans, and other services. Contact Clovia at:
■ Web: http://www.lemongrassplanning.com/
■ Follow us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/lemongrass-consulting-inc.
■ Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lemongrassplans

■ LIKE us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LemongrassConsultingInc

■ Email: chamilton@lemongrassplanning.com

Five (5) Characteristics of Entrepreneurial Drive

I counseled a small business owner last week and she kept stating that she realized she just needed more patience. She was so frustrated with her firm’s performance that she felt debilitated. She kept stating that she knew that with patience she would eventually achieve her goals. I countered that it will take a lot more than patience.

My Webster dictionary defines patience as enduring without complaint; tranquil waiting or expectation. I don’t like these definitions. My beef with the tranquil waiting without complaint or expectation is that it lacks energy. I do like Webster’s definition of patience as endurance and perseverance. It takes discipline, consistency, perseverance, endurance, and motivation.

1. Discipline – entrepreneurs have to have the discipline to make sales calls, market the business, and get the customers’ work done on a daily basis. Do you think your daily behavior is disciplined?

2. Consistency – business owners have to develop routines and business systems that they execute consistently. Attending to customers, sales, and marketing must be consistently carried out every day. Do you try things once or for a short period of time and quit when there’s no immediate reward?

3. Perseverance – Webster defines this as the ability to persist despite difficulties. When you hit a road block, you find a way to go under, over, or around it. Webster also defines this as having a high sense of holding on to a worthy course against all difficulty, opposition, or hindrances. Do you persevere or do you cave in?

4. Endurance – Endurance requires energy. It helps to be in good physical and mental shape. It helps to be around energetic people. I recently distanced myself from a friend because he is incredibly lethargic and negative. His negative energy drained my positive energy and left me feeling depleted. His disinterest in doing anything more than being a couch potato unnerved me. I recently talked to a guy who said he did not understand why folks felt they needed to be surrounded by like minded individuals. Well, for me, at the very least, being like minded means having matched ambition and drive. What is your level of endurance?

5. Motivation – I think that many entrepreneurs know what they need to do to achieve the goals they want to achieve. However, many do not work on it because they lack motivation. There has to be something there to motivate small business owners to work as hard (and hopefully as smart) as we do.

Many years ago, I completed a Certified Public Manager training program. We studied Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in our introduction to motivation theory. We learned that people are motivated to get work done so as to satisfy needs. So, business owners need to not only reflect on their own unsatisfied needs but also the needs of other people they rely on to get work done through. The Maslow hierarchy of needs ranges from a pyramid’s base physiological needs (air, food, water, sleep, sex); to safety and security; to social friendship and belonging; to self-esteem, respect, and recognition; to the pyramid’s peak, complex self-actualization needs (challenges, creativity, growth, achievement, advancement).

According to Maslow, a person advances to the next level of the hierarchy only when lower needs are minimally satisfied. Take a moment to self-reflect. What are your unsatisfied needs? How can working on your business satisfy your needs?

One of my favorite woman owned small business advocates is Nell Merlino, founder of the Count Me In program and Make Mine a Million (M3) race. She teaches that women business owners need to save themselves. In Nell’s book, Stepping out of Line, she advocates that it helps to create a whirl of activity around us similar to a political campaign. Patiently and tranquilly lying in wait for your season or your day to come is not going to get it done. Actively working on our shortcomings and unsatisfied needs just might get it done!

By Clovia Hamilton, President, Lemongrass Consulting, Inc.
Clovia founded Lemongrass Consulting in 2005 with nearly 30 years of government work experience and serves as a procurement counselor in the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC). Lemongrass Consulting provides strategic planning solutions including government contracting strategic marketing plans, intellectual property, social media marketing strategic plans, and other services. Contact Clovia at:
■ Web: http://www.lemongrassplanning.com/
■ Blog: http://cloviahamilton.wordpress.com/
■ LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cloviahamilton
■ Twitter: http://twitter.com/lemongrassplans
■ Email: chamilton@lemongrassplanning.com

12 Ideas you can get when Visiting your Connections’ Websites

Google image via dailygreen.com

We recently went through a lead scoring exercise. It was time consuming, but worth it. We scored 7500 contacts. The process required checking out our contacts’ website. I highly recommend that you get in the habit of visiting your contacts’ website “before” friending on Facebook, connecting on Linkedin, following on Twitter, or otherwise chatting with a new contact. It’s a great way to get a glimpse at what your contacts are up to.

Whenever we saw information or website features we liked, we’d save them as samples. We made good use of our Snipping Tool to save jpeg images of what we liked.

Here are 12 ideas you can get when visiting your connections’ websites:

1. Website Design and Branding Ideas -
a. Landing Pages
b. Page tabs
c. Photos
d. Capability Statements, Resumes, Bios
e. Media kits
f. Ways to display testimonials
g. Shopping Carts

2. Trade Organizations to check out
3. Periodicals to Subscribe to
4. Business books to buy
5. Case studies and white papers to post
6. Social Media ideas
7. Press release ideas
8. Referral networks to join
9. Hiring ideas – look at the structure of their teams; their organization chart – what positions should you hire? Some of my contacts had speaking agents and PR (press/media) assistants.
10. Business Award program ideas
11. Business events to host
12. Affiliate programs

Gathering ideas from the websites of folks in your network is gathering business intelligence.  Competitive intelligence is the legal and ethical acts of systematically gathering, analyzing, and managing information about business competitors.  Well, many of the folks in your network may not be competitors.  In fact, many business owners mistakenly avoid connecting with their competitors.  When gathering competitive intelligence, businesses gather their competitors’ news articles, publications, patent filings, trade show marketing materials, and other market research.

Some business owners may perceive business intelligence as espionage or spying.  I see it as getting to know the folks in your network better.  The more you know about the folks in your network, the better you can forge strategic alliances and the better choices you can make about the type of relationship you should build with each person in your network.

There are far too many businesses engaged in social media marketing that do not take the time to study their network.  Besides learning more about each organization you are now connected to, why not take away some ideas that may benefit your own organization?

By Clovia Hamilton, President, Lemongrass Consulting, Inc.
Clovia founded Lemongrass Consulting in 2005 with nearly 30 years of government work experience and serves as a procurement counselor in the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC). Lemongrass Consulting provides strategic planning solutions including government contracting strategic marketing plans, intellectual property, social media marketing strategic plans, and other services. Contact Clovia at:
■ Web: http://www.lemongrassplanning.com/
■ Blog: http://cloviahamilton.wordpress.com/
■ LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cloviahamilton
■ Twitter: http://twitter.com/lemongrassplans
■ Email: chamilton@lemongrassplanning.com

10 Tips for Biz Card & Networking Savvy

I dusted off a card scanner to begin scanning biz cards as a form of therapy (a light duty, stress free, painless, easy, no brainer). I began to scan away at about 700 business cards. Many were great and many woefully planned and designed. I also made some awful mistakes when networking. Here are 10 tips I jotted down while scanning away:

1. Do not take a business card that does not have the person’s name on it. Read the card before they get away. Write down their full name.

2. Write the date you met the person and the event on the business card. I had some cards where I put a partial date (forgot the year); put the date and not the event; or put the event and no date.

3. Have a business card that can be scanned. Some of the business cards in my stack were made of thick plastic; the same as a credit card. Some were all black and the text could not be scanned. One card was made of a weird vellum paper and it would not feed into the scanner.

4. Be sure to get the person’s cell phone number. Be sure to put your mobile phone number on your business card.

5. Think of us forty-plus something business people when you choose a font. One of the business cards was in a 4 point font. I could not read it without a magnifier. Luckily, the scanner could scan it. Nevertheless, be sure people can read your card without squinting.

6. If your company name is inserted in your logo, have it typed somewhere else again without the graphic. Company names in graphic logos did not scan.  I put it on the back of the card. Be sure to scan the front and back of business cards you collect.  Make great use of the back for listing your licenses, certifications, tag line, etc.

7. Choose paper that folks can write on. You cannot write on plastic or vellum or slick glossy paper.

8. Save a list of your notes from the business cards you collected into a word document. It will remind you of your marketing journey – all of the events, all of the networking. Study the list and ask yourself which events resulted in work, teaming, or other collaborations.

9. Ask yourself, which events are you drawn to? My firm is 6 years old. I looked back over the past 5 years. I am primarily drawn to small business development events such as trade fairs, match making/ partnering events, and government vendor outreach sessions. Next, over the years I have made my rounds to visit with decision makers in government agencies – procurement staff, program directors, department directors, project managers. Third, I lean toward urban planners, civil engineers, and economic development specialists. So, I have attended their trade meetings (annual conferences, luncheons).

10. Lastly, use this intelligence to develop your marketing plan for 2012. Plan out the entire 12 months. Make your rounds. Attend trade meetings, conferences, etc. What will it cost to participate? Registration fees? Travel transportation and hotels? Budget for it now!
By Clovia Hamilton, President, Lemongrass Consulting, Inc.

Clovia founded Lemongrass Consulting in 2005 with nearly 30 years of government work experience and serves as a procurement counselor in the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC). Lemongrass Consulting provides strategic planning solutions including government contracting strategic marketing plans, intellectual property, social media marketing strategic plans, and other services. Contact Clovia at:
■ Web: http://www.lemongrassplanning.com/
■ Blog: http://cloviahamilton.wordpress.com/
■ LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cloviahamilton
■ Twitter: http://twitter.com/lemongrassplans
■ Email: chamilton@lemongrassplanning.com

You Feeling Something – That’s what Sells

One of my favorite TV shows is Mad Men. Small business owners or other leaders can learn a lot about advertising their organizations by watching Mad Men. There is a line in one rerun episode that I jotted down recently. The advertising firm leader said to his protégé copy writer:

“You are the product. You feeling something – that’s what sells”. She replied that sex sells. He corrected her and said that the people who believe sex sells think that monkeys can do advertising. He also added that just because there is sentiment does not mean an advertisement is sentimental.

Well, how does this apply to low budget social media marketing? It is all very relevant. The bottom line is that when we market and advertise our products and services, we need to feel something. In my mind’s eye, that means feeling what the ideal customer needs and can relate to. It is simply about putting yourself in the customer’s shoes.

Where does sentiment come in? Well, buying is emotional. For example, I am drawn toward traditional furniture and classic clothes because that is what my mother enjoyed. She wore the classics. She looked very 1950s and 1960s. I love this era because emotionally it reminds me of my mom. So, when we sell our products and services, we should give some thought to what emotions or feelings will resonate with our prospects.

The age old business lesson is to tap into our prospect’s pain. That works; but so does nostalgia. When I started my firm and made my routine rounds to visit prospects, many told me that lemongrass resonated with them – their tea, Zen teachings, candles, aromatic distillers, oils, and perhaps Thai dishes. All of these things provoked a “feel good” experience. People want to or should want to feel better and be happy. To be sentimental, we have to appeal to tender emotions and feelings such as what our prospects need, love and yearn for. It is about giving the customers and prospects an experience. This is all the rave right now! Businesses coaches are teaching – give them an experience. Many small businesses are thinking – yeah, well, how? How would you go about it?

By Clovia Hamilton, President, Lemongrass Consulting, Inc.

Clovia founded Lemongrass Consulting in 2005 with nearly 30 years of government work experience and serves as a procurement counselor in the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC). Lemongrass Consulting provides strategic planning solutions including government contracting strategic marketing plans, intellectual property, social media marketing strategic plans, and other services. Contact Clovia at:
■ Web: http://www.lemongrassplanning.com/
■ Blog: http://cloviahamilton.wordpress.com/
■ LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cloviahamilton
■ Twitter: http://twitter.com/lemongrassplans
■ Email: chamilton@lemongrassplanning.com