The top 5 tips weekly post is always full of hints and tips for small, home & micro business owners.

• Temp agencies are useful – look at them as being a trial period for potential employees.
  
• Offer internships / work experience to local students or hire them on a part-time basis.
• Consider hiring migrants – they are often some of the hardest workers (but pay them fairly!)
• Keep an eye out for talented women who have left their career behind to raise children.
• Hiring relatives of your best employees often works out well and can save substantially on recruitment costs.

If you have additional tips, please share them in the comments section.

With better economic conditions coming soon, there couldn’t be a better time to brush up on your sales skills. The recent downturn has made companies think twice about who they are dealing with and has made them potentially more likely to switch suppliers. Perhaps to your firm?

Here are a few ideas to get you and your sales team fired up!

Don’t give up on your bottom 80%
The rule of thumb has generally been that top 20% of your customers generate 80% of your revenues. However, due the slump, don’t give up on your bottom 80% of your customers. Your best clients for 2010 might not have spent anything in 2009. Hopefully you’re still on their radar for when they are ready to spend again.

Map out a sales plan
It’s worth laying out a sales plan so your reps aren’t running off in all directions. Map out a timeline for every step in the sales cycle. Look at researching prospects, making initial contact, presenting the product and closing the deal.

Get the CEO some face time
I’ve always been a proponent of getting the CEO out in front of clients so he or she really knows what’s going on. It also sets a great example with the sales team. And nothing says “I really want your business” more than a CEO who makes the effort to meet with potential customers.

Listening vs. Boasting
Successful salespeople listen a lot more than they talk. They’re able to ask focused questions, such as “What is the greatest challenge you see your company facing in 2010” and listen closely to the answers. This will likely reveal the customer point of pain which you and your company can address. Or, on the flip side, get your potential clients to paint a picture of success and inquire what has stopped them from achieving it. Figure out what you can do to help them get there.

Be realistic on what you can deliver
Your salespeople might be landing business at prices lower than your cost. Talk to your team and make sure they know they can go this low, but no lower.
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The top 5 tips weekly post is always full of hints and tips for small, home & micro business owners.

• If possible, get some advice from your accountant regarding the level of pay you plan on taking from the business.
  
• Research the going rate for CEOs in your industry.
• Learn about how your company structure affects pay.  Salary and bonuses are taxed differently to dividends.
• Don’t pay yourself too much or you will harm the company.  Don’t pay yourself too little or the taxman will be suspicious.
• If you paid yourself very little in the early years of trading don’t be ashamed to compensate yourself when the business becomes successful.

If you have additional tips, please share them in the comments section.

It’s been a tough year for everyone. I’m guessing your team is leaner than it was only 12 months ago and each person is balancing a lot on their plate. As a result, the timing is even more critical for you to make tough choices about which things your company should focus on – and which things it should not.

Recently, I came across a great list of questions that can help you choose from among competing potential strategies.

1.Where are we now and where do we want to be in, say, 3 years? (consider 1 year if that is easier for you) Start at where you want to be and work your way backwards. If your long-term goal is to grow market share by 10% then list out the strategies that will get you there. How am I going to build my client list? How am I going to increase the size of my customers’ basket of goods?

2.Do I have solid research indicating there is demand for my direction? Do your due diligence. Is there more market share to grab? Have any of my competitors gone under? Is there a growing need for my product/service? Get testimonials from consumers or subscribe to market research report.

3.Do our main strategies leverage our core competencies? Determine what you have that your competitors wish they could steal from you. Leverage those strengths and ensure they are the basis for your strategies.

4.Are my strategies aligned with my company’s values? If one of your values is incredible customer experience then put the strategy most likely to deliver this at the top of the list. Perhaps now is the time to implement that CRM program to manage your information and amaze customers.

5.Can we realistically establish these strategies in the expected time frame? Don’t let your excitement blind you from the real world. Be rationale on how long it will take you to execute your strategies. Remember you have to get your team on board and gain momentum. Change is not easy.

This is simply a guideline to help you prioritize your ideas and opportunities. If you think it would be helpful, read your list of strategies to yourself everyday. By keeping them top-of-mind you’re more likely to stay focused.

The top 5 tips weekly post is always full of hints and tips for small, home & micro business owners.

• Look for someone with expertise in your industry so they will already know the relevant issues.
  
• Be honest with them regarding the success of your business.  They can only be effective if they have an accurate picture.
• Share your goals with them so that they can help you achieve your dream of success.
• Make sure that the mentor is aware of what you want from them e.g. cashflow advice.
• Develop a network of mentors you can rely on for good advice.  No one person has all the answers.

If you have additional tips, please share them in the comments section.

Small business owners may have nightmares about reading an article about the product launch of your closest competitor only to realise it’s the same product you have been working on for months. However, rather than wasting time worrying about how you could miss that information, consider instead spending that energy on competitive intelligence to prevent any possible surprises.

The term competitive intelligence may conjure up images of espionage and James Bond movies, but it’s simply the honest practice of gathering and analysing public information on competitors. It ensures you to have a good sense of what is going on with your competitors and avoids surprises. It should be an integral aspect of any small business.

Know where to look:
A majority of information that you want to know about your competitors is freely available. Analyst reports, traditional media (newspaper, press releases), job search engines, business and academic sites and even trade shows. Thanks to the internet gathering competitive intelligence has never been easier. RSS Feeds deliver timely updates from your favourite websites and blogs and can help you keep abreast of what others are saying in your industry. Google Alerts are also a great source of information by providing email updates of the latest relevant Google results (news, web etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.

Know who to ask:
Often talking to the competition can lead to the most telling information. It may not be a matter of what they say but how they react. Body language always speaks volumes. For instance, if you spot a competitor at the bar after a trade show, ask if they’re launching that Amazing Widget. If her eyes go big and light up then you’re on to something!

Know what is useful:
Not everything you hear or read will be important or true. You may find that you’re collecting pieces of a puzzle. Consider the source of the information. Ask yourself is there any other information that supports that rumour? Does XYZ have enough cash to make that move?

Know how to use it
Analysing the information you gain about your competitors can be used in different ways depending on your needs. You may simply want a sense of your competitors profile or perhaps it will be used to benchmark your company performance.

Competitive intelligence is an ongoing job and by using the appropriate methods you can develop a good understanding of your competitors business and your competitors weaknesses can become your strengths!

Most entrepreneurs view their competition as the enemy.  They stay far away. But a small junk removal business in Canada is making friends with their competition and believes it gives their business an edge. Consider this story and you be the judge of whether this could work for your business.

Brian Scudamore dropped out of high school in 1989 with $700 (£400) and a beat-up old pick-up truck to start his company 1-800-GOT-JUNK? Today they have 95 franchise partners across North America and are in 47 of North America’s top 50 cities.

Although he never finished high school, Scudamore loves nothing more than learning. Within his business he has established what he calls a Mentor Board of Advisors, a group of people he turns to for advice and learning. Not surprisingly this group includes mentors within his own industry, but what is unique about Scudamore is that some of these mentors run the businesses he competes against every day.

For example, one of these mentors runs one of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?’s closest rivals College Hunks Hauling in Florida. Scudamore first called them when they were both faced with a potential conflict. Together they resolved the challenge and ever since they have shared learnings and struggles and even asked one another for favours!.

Scudamore believes his philosophy so much that he has invited another competitor, Jason Mohr who runs Any Junk in London, to come visit their offices in Vancouver and even offered to pay half of his traveling costs! Together, they’ve shared best practices that each could apply in their respective countries.

Working in tandem with your competitors has benefits in addition to getting a good beat to what’s happening in your industry. Here are a few examples:

• An employee conducts him/herself inappropriately with your competitor – wouldn’t you rather a friendly call from your competitor to inform you so you can nip it in the bud?

• Need to collectively drive people to an area – Whether at trade shows or organizing events, customers may be more inclined to come if they can “kill two birds with one stone”

• Your competitor might want to buy your business – An acquirer would likely approach a company that they are familiar with and want to work with in the future.

Befriending your competition definitely requires a certain approach. Scudamore recommends leading by “sharing information first” because this establishes a basis for trust.

It makes sense. Why fight your competition when you can work with them to grow the size of the pie? Isn’t the expression “Keep your friends close. Keep your enemies closer?”

The top 5 tips weekly post is always full of hints and tips for small, home & micro business owners.

• Start getting into the habit of saving each week right now, at the beginning of the year.
  
• Add up all your monthly expenses so you can estimate how much money you will have left each month.
• If you are still in a day job, set aside 5% of your paycheck to start building a reserve.
• Try to save around £50 / $100 per week and you will soon have a nice financial cushion.
• Make sure that whenever you draw money from the business you set aside money for tax to avoid nasty surprises later on.

If you have additional tips, please share them in the comments section.

A small business quote keeps you thinking, inspired and entertained.

“Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognise them.”

Ann Landers (1918-2002) US columnist, attrib.

To view previous quotes, click here

A small business quote keeps you thinking, inspired and entertained.

“We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”

Edith Lovejoy Pierce (b. 1904) poet

To view previous quotes, click here