Small Business

Have you noticed how fast the summer seems to be going? Hard to believe but, I have starting booking my first fall networking events. WOW. Things seem to move forward faster everyday.

If you are a sales professional, business manager or entrepreneur who attends trade show or a monthly association meeting events as a business development investment you are investing of your resources of both time and money.

You invest your time;

• researching various trade shows and evaluating whether the event will attract the right target market for your business
• your time attending

You invest your money;

• trade show registration/booth fees & staff time
• travelling costs

Attending events helps to raise the visibility of your business in the marketplace and generates prospect leads for your business. These leads come in 2 forms,

1. attendees you met and with whom you started a conversation and
2. the attendance list which includes attendees you did not met and with whom you could start a conversation.

Back at the office, the questions are;

• how do you maximize your attendance investment by following up with the highest number of prospects and driving that traffic into your follow up sales funnel?
• what are the next steps to follow up and
  • continue the conversation with attendees you met?
  • start the conversation with the list of attendees you did not met?

In the past, for trade show follow up marketing, we would mail out sales literature and then try to get prospect on the phone, but follow up methods are changing.

Today, I help my clients utilize the technology they currently have, to build their next follow up steps.

• First, database set up to centralize all of the prospect leads, a CRM Customer Relationship Manager such as ACT, Maximizer or Goldmine.
• Second, set up an email blaster such as Swiftpage with ACT to send out emails.
  (Swiftpage can also work without ACT)

The great thing about this newer methods is that we can collect statistics, for example, about delivery. Depending on your follow up next steps, you may also be able to track the additional traffic your follow up drives to your website.

If you are interested in learning more about how to follow up and maximize your trade show or networking event attendance, I offer several options.

2 hour sessions Follow up – Discover Your Next Step and a session about taking action and implementing the follow up steps in your business Follow Up – Take Action. This session is about database set up, database maintenance and outbound cold calling.

Follow Up Training - Set The Stage For Follow Up and Automate Your Follow Up Process. Attend yourself and bring this business training for your office. You will learn how to build a Follow Up System that maximizes your business development investment and help get you past that 1st contact to the 2nd and beyond to the 5th contact where 80% of sales are made. You will save time, stayed organized and drive more traffic to your business!

Questions? No problem. Contact Cheryl Scoffield, Follow Up Specialist.

Cheryl Scoffield, Follow Up Specialist at Executive Sales Support

Are you attending trade shows, monthly association meetings & networking events to get new prospects? Business Development  costs money.
Do you have a plan in place and implemented, for staying in touch with the new prospects you meet?

If you are interested in learning more about how to follow up and maximize your investment, I offer several options.

2 hour sessions Follow up – Discover Your Next Step  and a session about taking action and implementing the follow up steps in your business Follow Up – Take Action. This session is about database set up, database maintenance and outbound cold calling.

Follow Up Training - Set The Stage For Follow Up and Automate Your Follow Up Process. Attend yourself and bring this business training for your office. You will learn how to build a Follow Up System that maximizes your business development investment and help get you past that 1st contact to the 2nd and beyond to the 5th contact where 80% of sales are made. You will save time, stayed organized and drive more traffic to your business!

Questions? No problem. Contact  Cheryl Scoffield, Follow Up Specialist.

Do you have a closet full of clothes but feel like you have nothing to wear?

Most of us only wear about 10% of the clothes in our wardrobe.  The other 90% fall into one of the following four categories: 

1. It doesn’t fit
2. It looks outdated or tired looking from wear
3. It’s not comfortable
4. It doesn’t match anything

The clothing that falls into these four categories should be purged as soon as possible.  These clothes are no longer serving you.  They are taking up valuable space and mislead you into thinking that you have more clothes than you really have.  If you do wear these items they will make you feel unhappy about how you look and reflect poorly on your personal image.  

Taking control of your wardrobe starts with closet control. This may sound painful to some, but it will alleviate the angst of opening your closet door in the morning and feeling overwhelmed. Plus, once it’s done, you’ll feel better and know what clothes you have to build your (new and improved) wardrobe around.

And you can make it fun! If you have a friend with a sense of style you admire, invite them over. Have food and drinks on hand. You’ll be surprised by how enjoyable it can be.

Going through and clearing out your closet is probably not something you are looking forward to; however it will be a job that you will be happy to have done.

How to Decide What to Keep

Step #1: Purge Then Splurge

Your first step is to pull everything out and separate it into two categories: what you wear and what you don’t by asking yourself the following questions:

• Does it fit well or is it too big or small?  Be honest about whether or not it will fit you within the next 12 months.  If you’ve been holding onto something for years in case you lose that extra weight, chances are it won’t look right when you do, as our bodies change and styles change. If it doesn’t fit and isn’t worth altering, give it away!
• Is it just too big or needs to be altered?  If it’s worth keeping, get it done.
• Is it your best style and colour?  If not, give it away.
• Is it comfortable?  If not, you’ll never wear it, so it’s just taking up space. Give it away.
• Is it outdated? You can try to pair the piece with something more current, but if it still feels unstylish, give it away.
• Am I waiting for it to come back into style?  The simple answer is it won’t so give it away.
• Have I worn it in the last year?  If the item is your style, fits, is the right color but have not worn in the last year, again give it away.
• Take a hard look at your accessories, scarves, jewelry, belts etc. and remove all that are broken or out of style.

If it doesn’t match anything you have in your closet, set it aside for now.

How to Effectively Organize Your Clothes Closet

Step #2: Group likes with likes

Once you eliminated these items, you will have a better idea of what you’re working with each morning.

Now hang the items that have passed the test in the following order:

• Hang like colours together going from light to dark
• Hang jackets together with the matching pant and/or skirt directly behind
• Hang miscellaneous skirts together and then miscellaneous pants
• Dresses should go together and have room to hang.

How to Build a Wardrobe That Reflects Your Personal Style and Brand

Step #3

Now that you have taken out all the items that are not needed, make a list of the items you will need to complete an outfit.

• Make a list of accessories you will need to complement the items you have left in your closet.
• Create two lists as now it is time to decide if which items on your list are number one in importance and those that are number two.
  • Your first list should include items that you are will to pay full price for such as jackets, skirts and pants. These are items that are classic and you will wear for a long time. Consider if you buy a jacket that costs $400 and you wear it 5 times a month it will cost (12 months x 5 = 60 divided into 400) $6.60 in the first year. If you pay the same amount for an evening dress that you wear twice it is $200 per wear. Don’t be afraid to spend on a suit because good quality will last a long time.
  • Your second list will include items that are of less importance such as trendy items, T-shirts, shorts, etc.

How much should you spend? A rule of thumb is 5% of your income.

Additional Tips

• Get the help of a trained Wardrobe Consultant like “Images That Suit” (it’s free) to help you wisely choose items that successfully integrate current style; best suit your personal image needs; body type; age and budget as mistakes are costly.
• Buy padded hangers for delicate items.
• Put belts over hangers.
• Invest in shoe trees to keep your shoes organized.

Paris Hilton may be everyone’s favorite airhead, but you don’t want to dress like her at the office. And face it men; hat muscle T-shirt doesn’t flatter your teddy-bear tummy; and women; skirts that are too short, too tight or too long just don’t do you justice.

But in the age of “Dress Down Friday” and Internet Frump, what’s appropriate to wear to work? At many companies, there are no carved-in-stone rules, so when in doubt, go traditional.

“The most basic mistake new employees make is underdressing,” says Randall Hansen, a professor of business at Stetson University in Deland, Fla. “If unsure, dress conservatively. The best way to avoid a problem is to understand the corporate culture.”

That’s a polite way of saying that a button-down company won’t appreciate your showing up for work in cutoffs and flip-flops, while a crunchy-granola outfit will think you’re nuts if you sit at your desk in a three-piece suit.

Making the right impression at work isn’t hard if you keep in mind three basic points when buying clothes for the office:

1. Presentation counts.
2. Casual shouldn’t mean slovenly.
3. Dress as you want to be seen: Serious, professional, upward-bound and ready to meet clients.

If your office has a written dress code, your problems are solved, and you can dress cookbook-style. If necessary, go shopping with the dress code in hand and pluck appropriate stuff from the rack. But many offices don’t have written standards, and it’s up to you to get it right. So, here’s a rule of thumb: Understated elegance beats flash and trash five days a week.

When starting a new job, remember that you’re being sized up all the time. Little things count. How you dress will tell the boss how you see yourself and how you approach the job. Some people, especially young workers, overlook this basic point, flub it and wonder why what seemed like a promising opportunity turned sour. (See ” Job Hunting Tips From Recruiters.”)

Rule of thumb: Always dress for the task at hand. If you’re a civil engineer headed for a construction site, jeans, a flannel shirt and work boots are fine, but that’s not how to dress when making a formal presentation to the grand pooh-bahs at the office. Believe it or not, otherwise intelligent people are remarkably dumb about this basic point.

Appearance can create credibility. You know this from your own experience watching TV food-fight shows focusing on politics and other chin-pulling topics. Think of the number of times experts from opposing sides of an issue have made good points during an exchange, but you remember what one said simply because that person was better dressed and came across better on screen.

Hello

It was a long time ago, since I have logged in, times are busy, and nobody probably expect  some carpet cleaner from Oakville to do some blogging, right?

But times are changing, and we are shifting into the digital age, with all online media, presence, and social Networking.

Yellow pages are good just as a paper weight…

I have some news to share with you, I have started collecting my clients testimonials, but not only written, but also video..

I have entered world of You Tube, check my videos,  feel free to comment, or rate it…

Here is my own first video, bit about Oliva Service:

it took me 5 minutes, right from iPhone …

and here is my REAL client testimonial, after the job in Burlington, 2 days ago…

Next video will include my whole cleaning process, what we do, and how we do it…

Yours

Olin Vanek

OLIVA SERVICE

Hi fellow Oakville Networking members

In a survey conducted about 10 months ago, results show that the top three problems facing entrepreneurs in Halton  were:

1. isolation,

2. lack of meeting space and

3. difficulty getting good referrals to get the best help for themselves and their businesses.

I personally know this to be true as a home-based entrepreneurial coach for the last 5 years.

Sitting in my home office certainly has its perks but boy, there were some unbearable days where I had to pack my files and laptop and GET OUT as I could not stand the loneliness of being at home anymore.  I also know that I frequented too many Starbucks stores to name (hence my slight, ok, major addiction to soy chai lattes) because I had no place to meet my clients.  On top of it all, I have had my share of feeling lost and making poor choices when it came to outsourcing for help because I didn’t know where to go for a good referral.

Any of these feel familiar?

Well, that’s why I created the e-Spotâ„¢…. a much-needed community for entrepreneurs.  I just knew that if I was surrounded by energetic, creative, entrepreneurial minds, had a flexible, fun yet professional space to work and have meetings in and could get the help I needed, all in one spot, I would grow as a person and by extension, so would my business.

As many of you have heard me talk about over the last few months, the e-Spotâ„¢ is a membership-based community for entrepreneurs for the Halton and Mississauga area, located at 353 Iroquois Shore Road in Oakville (just off Trafalgar, north of the QEW) on the 2nd floor.  We are in the midst of designing this unique space that is unlike anything in the vicinity complete with gorgeous interior brick, an exposed, loft-style ceiling, an energy bar, and the most dynamic staff you’ll meet – this 3000 square feet space calls out “creative, cool and competent” and will WOW you and your clients.

Opening in December 2009, we are already gaining lots of interest from a HUGE entrepreneurial community.  I am writing you today to invite you to come and find out all about this new community.

We are hosting a short information afternoon on Friday, November 13th from 1 – 2pm.  I’d love to meet you and give you an overview of the opportunity so you can see for yourself whether this would be a good match for you and your business.

The meeting will be held at the location of one of our neighbours, The Little Gym (for whom we are very grateful for offering us space while our space in under construction!). It is located at 355 Iroquois Shore Road, Unit 2B, in Oakville.  Please RSVP to our e-Spot™ Manager, Elaine Geroche at elaine@e-spot.ca or by calling 289-291-5304 by Wednesday, November 11th to secure a spot at this information event.

And please feel free to forward this to anyone you know who you think might be interested in coming.  In the meantime, you can check out our blogsite at www.e-spot.ca

We look forward to seeing you all there.

Warmly,
Grace Yvonne Attard, Creator of the e-Spotâ„¢

If you enjoy business networking then the annual Summer Networking Bash in Toronto is the place to be. It is hosted by Unleash PR for the 7th year in a row.

This year’s event is poised to be the largest ever, with 500+ confirmed guests — business owners, solopreneurs, sales professionals and entrepreneurs, just like you. The main purpose of this event is to facilitate connections between business owners.

Several sponsors have contributed to making this the networking event of the summer, and among them will be your webmaster, Boris Mahovac, representing Better Business Networking, a new type of networking idea.

As a member of this networking group you can attend for free! I have a limited number of tickets to hand out, call me at 905-844-4247 (first-come first-served). Tickets are available online for $22 ($40 at the door).

If you’re interested in helping me out you can join me at my table to share your experience with being a member of this group. I have a few T-shirts and baseball caps to give to those who help me out.

When: Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Time: 5pm – 9 pm
Where: All Canadian Self Storage, 1 Laird Dr, Toronto

View Larger Map

Boris Mahovac R.G.D.

Sign up for my next Contacts2Clients Business Seminar

Let's connect:

Did you know that 70% of all sales now start as research on the Internet – are your ideal clients finding you?

Invest 3 hours and I guarantee I will teach you how to:

	Attract Contacts (Generate Leads) creating a powerful online presence what makes a good web site: basics of design, layout and content search engines: basics of SEO or how to build a Google-friendly site web site is not enough – what else you need online attracting visitors (contacts) with relevant and useful content blogging article writing participating in online forums, etc. online networking (Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter) entice visitors to sign up to receive more information about you and your services or products with discount coupons special reports or whitepapers on your topic of expertise regularly published email newsletters how to integrate all your online efforts
	Build Relationships (or, How to Get Prospects to Know, Like and Trust You) follow up with automated and semi-automated messages, delivering your expertise via email create communities, followers and friends engage with your audience in a meaningful conversation once they know, like and trust you they’ll be ready for the final step
	Close Deals (or, How to Convert “Friends” to “Raving Fans”) use gentle email marketing tactics to introduce your services or products to your contacts close deals on line or off line – depending on your business model finally reach your business goals in 2009 – regardless of the state of the economy

As a member Oakville Networking click here to SAVE 30% OFF the tuition

I network a lot. I attend meetings both within groups and over coffee with individuals. I look for business development opportunities for my own business Executive Sales Support and also for opportunities to help my network through my expertise, or passing along opportunities I think might be a fit for others.

One of my network groups is HAPPEN in Mississauga, Halton and Peel Professional Executive Network. There are many wonderful professionals “in transition” in HAPPEN. They are a great group that offers help while they are looking themselves and also after they land. One member, in particular, who helped me through his public relations efforts, is Hugh Black from HMB Communications Group. Contact hughblack at cogeco.ca.

Within HAPPEN, conversations are around finding full time employment and within my business networking groups, the conversations are around finding new business development opportunities. Over the past months, I have noticed a difference emerging between the two groups. On one hand full time traditional employment seems to be going the way of the dinosaur and on the other hand, the members of the small business group are as busy or busier than before Christmas.

Yesterday, all the random pieces of networking came together. I had been networking with Hugh Black, putting forward my point of view that people were choosing self employment,  then the new Canadian statistics for unemployment in April 2009 showed that unemployment stayed the same and there was an increase in the self employed numbers.

As a result of Hugh Black’s efforts; I was interviewed as an example of someone who had successfully transferred their skills and started their own business,  Executive Sales Support. My business helps sales and business professionals get out of the office to see more clients and close deals. As a result of this interview, I was mentioned in an article on the front page of The Toronto Star’s Business section on Saturday May 9, 2009.

Yahoo, networking pays off for business development!

If you want to network with me I have a linked in profile. I look forward to helping you.

Here is the link to the article “Self-employment: The ‘do-it-yourself recovery’ Jobs increased last month, largely through people embracing self employment. The Toronto Star’s Business section on Saturday May 9, 2009.

Are you a sales professional or business owner, who wants to maximize your business development and triple the prospects in your sales funnel?

Every business I have ever worked with wanted to generate more prospect leads for their sales pipeline. My clients tell me this all the time. The disconnect occurs when I investigate the process used to process new prospect leads gathered at trade shows, networking events etc.

As a Sales Support Specialist, many times I find marketing is generating so many prospect leads that sales is cherry picking and choosing to follow up only the hot leads. Hot is defined by sales as leads they believe will close within the near future and contribute to this month’s target. Sales does this because they have monthly and quarterly targets to hit. Does this practice sound like what is going on at your business?

The question I asked is “What happened to the remaining cold and warm prospect leads?” Usually I find they are stacked on a desk or lost in a folder somewhere. No one is following up and talking to them. You have to wonder about lost potential.

When sales prioritizes the hot leads they are harvesting only the low hanging fruit to reach short term goals for this month’s or next quarter’s sales target. Continuing this practice plays only your A team and does not develop your farm team. How much money are you leaving on the table for the competition who offers a similar product or service and is communicating with every prospect?

To develop hot prospects for tomorrow when today’s hot prospects are gone, you need to implement a follow up strategy today. That way, you can leverage the numbers, triple the prospects in your funnel and maximize the potential business development brings to your doorstep. A follow up strategy puts in place a system to not only organize, build and manage a prospect database but also communicate and educate to build future sales. Implementing a long term follow up strategy gets those cold and warm prospects, currently lost to follow up, into the sales funnel and a chance to bake from cold through warm to hot. Hot and ready for you to close that deal tomorrow.

The result? Minimization of the feast and famine cycle you may have been experiencing in your business. By adding cold and warm prospects to your sales funnel you triple your prospects. Following up with EVERY prospect allows you to mine incremental growth and revenue that can be added on top of your current business.

Here are 5 simple things you can do today to start building your follow up strategy and a system to leverage your time and information.

• Put every business card you currently have into a database.
• Start marketing and educating about what you offer and how your solution can help solve problems.
• Insert hyperlinks directing prospects back to your website where they can find more information.
• Commit to communicating on a regular basis and ask for feedback.
• Utilize drip marketing to communicate over time.

Once you get going you can optimize your time and money by expanding your system and utilizing automation and email marketing to reach even more prospect leads.

Let’s review how your prospects are processed with a sales funnel optimization consultation. Discover the hidden road blocks that are preventing you from cashing in on the opportunities already on your doorstep.

Contact me at Cheryl [at] Executive Sales Support.com.