The Freestyle Entrepreneur

Customer Service, Client Building & Follow-Up

The Issue: Small-business owners–and anyone else who enjoys a good sandwich–need a place like “Shelly Deli.” This sandwich shop in a convenience store by the bay in Safety Harbor, Florida makes the best “Cubans” and hoagies in town. Any town!

With friends coming for lunch Thursday, we’d phoned-in for two-dozen sandwiches that morning. When I picked up our order, the deli owner grinned and asked when our compliments would be rolling in? I returned the grin, but suggested that our repeat business could be viewed as a pretty decent compliment!

I think he got the point.

What I Think

Part of building a business—sandwich shops included–is turning customers (people who buy from you once) into clients (people who will buy from you over and over). Thus, a “client relationship” is one in which buyers and sellers agree the first transaction is not a one-time event. Along with repeat business, client relationships typically spin off referrals, which increase profitability by cutting front-end marketing costs.

But “client” status is not a label that can be stuck to the buyer by the seller, and it must be cultivated and nurtured to stay healthy. To borrow a line from former New York mayor, Ed Koch, simply asking clients, “How am I doing?” is a great way to find out.

Client service should be performed for profit, and with specific objectives. The mechanics of client building are easy (we’ll thumb-check a few techniques), but understanding the dynamics of client relationships and how to manage them is more difficult.

You and your clients have different, yet complementary, motivations driving the commitments you make to each other. On the one hand, you’ve made a sale, but expect to make repeat sales and may want the client to help you develop additional business through referrals. The client, on the other hand, has purchased a product or service that (you say) will meet one or more objectives. According to management consultant, Theodore Levitt, clients may begin to see the sale as a “favor” bestowed by them, not as something earned by you. In the Harvard Business Review, Levitt wrote, “In your excitement and eagerness for additional successes, it is easy to misread these subtle changes in attitude and damage the relationship before it gets off the ground.”

Your behavior and promises during and after the sale help shape the client’s perceptions. If a client feels that you’re taking the purchase for granted, or want to rush off to the next victim, the effect is predictable. Over the long-term, you’ll need to meet your client’s expectations by anticipating needs and problems (not just reacting to them) and establishing routines that assure the right kinds and frequency of client contacts.

Your client database and automated communications system can put most client-building activities on autopilot, but you’re still in charge and must manage the process. So pay attention to the details…like these:

• “Keeping-in-touch” e-mails, phone calls, and other informal contacts, can, and should, be ongoing.
• Set specific dates for formal meetings. Identify clients’ next priority issues; ask when they can be addressed.
• Ask relevant questions; have specific ideas. Introducing ideas from out of left field each time soon teaches clients to see contacts with you as thinly disguised sales calls.
• Be prepared. Read online and hardcopy newspapers, newsletters and other periodicals, sending relevant clippings to keep clients up on issues affecting them: Sid: Saw this item in today’s paper. Thought you’d find this interesting. All the best, Bill
• Respond quickly to problems, questions, and service requests. Treat phoned in, or e-mailed, service requests from clients as priorities, and follow up within 24 hours.
• Schedule times for callbacks and return e-mail. Many business owners reserve the last hour of the business day for those.
• Be aware of clients’ changing personal and family needs. If you don’t bring something up, you may not be asked. Never wait for people to ask the right questions at the right times.
• Call, write, or e-mail to congratulate clients on important business or family occasions.

With apologies to the wisdom of Ed Koch, all this reminds me of probably THE best-ever illustration of customer service, client building and follow-up:

A cartoon of a chicken asking: “How’s the egg!”

Bill Willard is a commercial freelance writer in Clearwater FL. A high-impact writer and editor for over 30 years, in addition to his byline pieces, Bill’s beat includes ghostwriting and editing for businesses of all types and sizes, professional practitioners and individuals.

Contact him at billw15@tampabay.rr.com to sign up for his popular e-blog, “Take Back America.”

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THE MARKETING REVOLUTION IS HERE

I’m a dinosaur, pushing 60 years of age.  I grew up in an age when marketing meant bending, twisting, shouting, cajoling, sex-appealing, manipulating, and pleading to get people to BUY!  BUY!  BUY!  It was a one-way message:  from the seller to the would-be buyer.  We talk.  You listen.  Any questions?  Not interested.  Just buy! 

No more.  And we can blame that on (or thank) the web.  Now, I’m not a faddist, and I’m slow to change.  But I’m convinced – zero doubts — that we are entering nothing short of a revolution in how marketing is done … at least effective marketing.  Remember, “audiences” can now click past our ads, change channels, ignore our direct and indirect messages more effectively than ever before.  “Today, 90 percent of the people who can avoid TV ads through TiVo, DVD recording, or the skip button on the VCR remote do so,” says Larry Weber in Marketing to the Social Web.  

The bottom line:  We aren’t in control anymore (not that we ever were … really).  Marketers can no longer dictate a top-down message.  Today, successful marketers are “aggregators,” not broadcasters.  We don’t so much sell as we build experiences, along with buying opportunities.  Big difference.  The customers are in charge.  And I think that’s good, because that means if we give them what they want – mostly in terms of information, experiences (call that emotive selling) and the power to buy what  they want (choice of customized products), when they want (at 2:00 AM in their jammies, if they like) and how they want (online, instore, inhome, at the beach) — they will buy.

The bottom line squared:  It is a new world.  Opportunities abound.  Just don’t think the old rules still apply.  Better yet, learn the new ones. 

I recommend a good place to start is with Larry Weber’s book, Marketing to the Social Web.  There are lessons to be learned and dollars to be earned on every page.   Excerpts from Weber: 

• “A symptom of how things are changing:  nearly every commercial during the Super Bowl is designed to send viewers to a digital destination.”
• “People don’t want to be sold.”
• “People do want news and information about the things they care about – and they want it right now.”
• “Community building – with communities focusing on a specific common interest – is one of the fastest growing  applications on the Web.”

Work hard.  Make money.  Learn the new rules.  And have fun. — jri
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Blatant commercial time:  Need help learning and profiting from the terrain under the new rules of marketing.  I help my clients identify their competitive advantages, build brand identity, compile strategies for tackling the challenges of marketing, and (finally, oh, yes, almost forgot) increase sales.  Give me a call or drop me an email.  The first visit is on me.  I’ll even buy lunch … even if you’re in Timbuktu.

John Ingrisano
President
Custom Communications
john@thefreestyleentrepreneur.com
(920) 559-3722
March 2, 2010

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A Conversation with Nicholas L. Gregory

Responding to a 1979 Stanford Research Institute survey, 37,000 affluent individuals said they were frustrated with too many financial services companies with too many poorly trained high-pressure sales reps pushing too many prepackaged products.

 In 1982, a young Ohio financial advisor, Nicholas Gregory, read that survey and realized this was no way to run a railroad. Before long, Gregory also knew he’d lurched uncontrollably into a hot new business opportunity! A fellow Floridian these days, he told me all about it over a recent cup of coffee.

“Accidental” Entrepreneur

“There had to be a better way,” Gregory reasoned at the time, “And I believe we found it!” The objective, as he saw it, was to combine those “disturbing” survey results about half-baked sales reps with a basic principle of engineering: It is essential to thoroughly understand your subject before you can make sound judgments about it. The result is the now-patented “Financial Engineering Process,” which provides quality financial education, training and advanced case design through Nick Gregory’s Financial Engineering Institute, LLC.

“Just as engineering provides manageable answers to complicated questions,” Gregory notes, “The traditional approach to financial services meant looking at consumers’ needs and objectives, and making suitable product recommendations–and for many advisors it still is. But doing business with wealthy individuals and business owners—the high-end “Affluent Markets”–requires specialized knowledge and professional education in the full-range of complex, ever-changing issues unique to that much sought-after ‘niche’ marketplace, and which, frankly, are beyond the reach of most financial services reps.”

Out of reach perhaps, but thanks to Nick Gregory, not unavailable!

Today, The Financial Engineering Institute, LLC, helps the financial services community reach and acquire affluent clients by mastering the levels of planning, marketing and technical tooling required in today’s volatile financial world. As a speaker and writer, for example, Nick Gregory has a firm grasp on cash management, risk management, investing, taxation, estate preservation, employee benefits, business succession and retirement planning–and routinely consults on those essential topics with attorneys, accountants and top-tier financial services professionals, as well as some of the largest financial service organizations worldwide.

Yes, those subjects are complex, but as with any intelligent engineering or smart business design, the beauty of Nick Gregory’s Financial Engineering process is its simplicity. “Financial Engineering-trained advisors are able to adopt a repeatable and customizable process for delivering financial services to high-end personal and business-owner clients,” Gregory concludes, “And because it really works, it’s a great confidence builder!”

What to Know More? Visit Nick Gregory on the Web at www.thefei.com, or contact The Financial Engineering Institute at P.O. Box 249, Tarpon Springs, FL 34688. 

Bill Willard is a commercial freelance writer in Clearwater FL. A high-impact writer and editor for over 30 years, in addition to his byline pieces, Bill’s beat includes ghostwriting and editing for businesses of all types and sizes, professional practitioners and individuals. Contact him at billw15@tampabay.rr.com to sign up for his popular e-blog, “Take Back America.”

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Curious which are the worst airline pilots?  (Korean.)  Ever wonder why some musicians are wanna-bes and others are superstars?  (Ten thousand hours.)  Or why the majority of National Hockey League players are born in January or February? (Age cut-off dates when they were children.)  Do you know why New York’s top merger lawyers are Jewish?  (Their parents were garment workers, and, yes, that makes sense.)  Would you like to know why being a genius is not the key factor in success?  (Affluence and parenting; finally, one that we all kind of knew!) 

These are the kind of mind-expanding questions (and their amazing answers) that have made Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success one of the most exciting books I’ve read in years.  

My favorite story is about “The 10,000 Hour Rule,” which finds that level of success is almost directly related to practice time dedicated to learning a skill.  Example:  10,000 hours makes musicians successful; 7,000 hours makes them decent lounge singers; 4,000 hours gives them the competence to become music teachers. 

This is why Gladwell also attributes the Beatles success to the more than 1,200 performances they did in the strip joints of Hamburg, Germany, playing sometimes seven days a week and up to ten hours a day.  Gladwell quotes Beatles biographer Philip Norman writing about their time in Hamburg:  “They were no good on stage when they went there and they were very good when they came back….  They weren’t disciplined onstage at all before that.  But when they came back, they sounded like no one else.  It was the making of them.”

Bottom line:  Check out Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success.  It is a well-written, enjoyable read that, at the very least, will give you a different perspective on life, business and success. Enjoy!  

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This is one of those books, The E-Myth Revisited,  that you almost love to hate.   

You hate it because the author, Michael E. Gerber, has a smarmy I’m-right-you’re-wrong attitude about him.  (His examples tend to be stories about borderline stupid business owners who he sets straight.) 

You love him (well, maybe love is way too strong a word) because his principles on how to grow a small business – from concept to maturity — are dead on.  He captured perfectly the process I went through as a start-up businessman 25 years ago, telling the story how I went from one-man show who did everything to my first hires and how I botched that completely, to mini-empire builder, etc.

 So, if you’re looking for some guidelines for bringing your biz to the next level – and you can put up with the author’s smarmy attitude – The E-Myth Revisited is worth the read.

 Work hard.  Make Money.  Have fun.

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I’ll get to the title in a minute.  First, I must start by saying that I love to hit the floor running hard every day in the quest for business.  I also love to end the day exhausted, spent, without anything left to give.  Family and friends have told me there’s only one thing worse than me when I’m running across the landscape at a full gallop … and that’s when I am adrift, temporarily without goals or a reason to knuckle down. 

Yes, I know, I’m the poster child for political incorrectness:  No hobbies (I see them as time wasters between days in the harness), and if you give me a day without a to-do list, I’m a restless bear.  (And, no, I don’t tinker or have a big tool chest, though I love to cook, fish on occasion, and travel … often combining business and pleasure.)   

Time off?  You bet.  I’m active and serious about my church and my faith.  Ditto for my friends, my lady love (woof!) and my children.  I also get about an hour of exercise in most days. 

So, sorry, but I was never a neglectful parent or companion.  I just love to squeeze every possible bit of life and profit out of each and every minute.  (I’ve been told – and this by those who love me – that after an hour or two with me, people need to take a break and take aspirin.  But they always come back, bless their hearts.)  It’s just that my quest has never been leisure or measuring my life by two weeks’ vacation a year.

So, why apologize to my children?  Well, because they caught what I have.  My son, Jonathan, is a hard-driving attorney who made partner at age 35 and loves to put in long hours.  (He is also in top five contention for father and husband of the year.)  My middle child, Nicky, is about 33 (those ages keep changing every year), a doctor, and in her final year of residency, who has a love-hate relationship with those wild, 48-hour shifts.  My baby, Angie, is a cosmetologist, mother of two and wife of one, who runs two hairstyling shifts (one her own business), and has a third business on the side (and yes, she, is a devoted, loving, gentle mother). 

So, with a ton of pride (and a dash of pity … nah, not really), I guess I should apologize to my children for cursing them with the gift of work.  Then again, nah!  I’m proud of them.  Great kids … though I do have to schedule visits with them a month in advance. 

So, work hard.  Make money.  Have fun.  We only have one life.  Get to it! 

John Ingrisano

The Freestyle Entrepreneur

204 Lakeview Drive

Algoma, WI 54201

(920) 559-3722

 February 10, 2010

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If it’s the little things that count, here’s one big little thing:

I’ve noticed that, of the many successful business people I’ve met over the years, perhaps half of them keep a little notebook in their shirt pockets.  Tell them something of interest or when they think of a potentially good idea, and they pull out the notebook, scribble a few notes and then go about the rest of their day.

 Personally, I’ve found that carrying such a notebook has helped me “remember” tons of neat ideas and information that would have otherwise been lost.

On the personal side, I tutor a fellow who, when I met him, was functionally illiterate (reading below the first grade level) and believed he was stupid.  As part of the tutoring process, I gave him a little notebook and told him that the difference between smart folks and the rest of the world was that the smart folks write down important info.  He now jots down everything he needs to remember (and yes, his reading skills have jumped to about the fifth grade level so far) and is more reliable than most people I know when it comes to keeping appointments and recalling info. 

Sooooo, work hard, make money, have fun, and keep that notebook handy.

John Ingrisano

The Freestyle Entrepreneur

204 Lakeview Drive

Algoma, WI 54201

(920) 559-3722

February 8, 2010

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I know.  I know.  The customer is king.  But for a moment, consider two things: 

1.  Your customers have a need for your product.  They will buy it somewhere, either from you or from a competitor.
2. They will buy it from you if you can demonstrate not that you’re great, but that you’re better than your competition.  (It’s like that story about not having to outrun the bear chasing two guys; you just have to outrun the other guy!)

 So, for just a little while, forget about your customers and take a long, hard look at your competition.  And ask the question:  “Why are people buying from those guys?”  Research.  Do secret shopping.  Find out what they are doing right … and what they are doing less than spectacularly.

 Then look at your own company.  Same questions?  But add one more at the end:  “What can we do to make ourselves different, make ourselves better, and – most of all – make our competitive advantages KNOWN to the customers?” 

Find the answers to that question, and you’ll out-compete your competition, pretty much knocking their socks off!  Work hard.  Make money.  Have fun.

P.S.  If you need help discovering your competitive advantage, give me a call.  I’ve got more ideas than you can shake a stick at!

John R. Ingrisano, The Freestyle Entrepreneur

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As business owners, we love (or envy) those stories about the business that increases its sales by 35% one year, 50% the next, etc.  Unfortunately, most of us would giggle ourselves silly if we picked up 10% a year.

Here’s what I do:  I look for ways to directly increase my sales or lower my expenses by a few dollars here, a few percentages points there.  

For example (and you can read more about this is my column in the March  2010 edition of Corporate Report Wisconsin), when I had my ill-fated Jimmy Buffett retail store in the Caribbean, I learned that if I put a CD player at the door and played some of Buffett’s island songs, it brought in just a few  more customers, which led to roughly a 5% increase in sales.   Adding that to a $500 day meant $25 in additional sales.  Yawn?  No way.  That meant potentially $175 more per week, or more than $9,000 more a year.

What can you do?  You tell me.  I invite you to spend some time over the next few days looking at one or two minor things you can do to push down your expenses or ratchet up your income.  Then add a comment to this post let me know what you came up with. 

And as always, work hard, make money, have fun!

Oh, and by the way, speaking of ratcheting up sales, I invite you to order a copy of my The Back to  Basics Book of Selling.  Click on the title link or order directly from me by sending a check for $19.94 ($35.89 for two), and I’ll throw in shipping for free … and autograph your copies, as well.   

John R. Ingrisano
204 Lakeview Drive
Algoma, WI 54201

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Socialism sounds nice.  Everybody takes care of each other, nobody goes hungry, etc.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t work.  Capitalism does.  It enables everyone to take care of himself or herself so nobody goes hungry, etc. 

Capitalism makes it possible for people to purchase the greatest variety of goods for the lowest possible prices.  (Government subsidies, by the way, artificially lower prices temporarily, but eventually lead to recession-like economic declines, if not the eventual downright collapse of the entire economic system.)  It also keeps prices at their lowest level possible, thanks to true competition (something a government cannot manipulate).

Example:  I purchased a Kindle e-reader from Amazon.com in March 2009.  It was a revolutionary development, one that intrigued me so profoundly that I went out and added Amazon.com to my stock portfolio immediately. 

I paid $359 for the gadget, well worth every penny.  Well, lo and behold, here it is January 2010 and competitors are now flooding the field with their own versions of e-readers.  And these products aren’t just clones.  No, instead, they’re next generation devices … new and improved. 

As a result of this wonderful competition, that same Kindle I bought in March is now available for $259; that’s $100 less than just nine months earlier.  And I expect the price to keep dropping. 

A teachable moment (or three lessons about competition and capitalism):

1.     It keeps prices low.  When a McDonalds and a Burger King set up shop at the same intersection, it pretty much guarantees that they will keep their prices as low as necessary to keep your business.  (No, this is not collusion; it’s competition.  Close one and prices at the other will increase.  Add a third and prices will decline even further, until each reaches what is called the “break even point.”  That’s the minimum a business can charge without going broke.  It’s also the ideal price from the point of view of a customer.)

2.     It gives us more choices.  Remember the images of Russians in the now defunct Soviet Union back in the 1960s standing in line for the next shipment of low-quality sausages (or any product, for that matter)?  Centralized management and government-run, non-competitive planning destroyed their choices under the “government knows best” theory.  Sorry, but it doesn’t.

3.     It leads to innovation.  Kindle’s competitors are offering new features (not just lower prices) to get your business.  That means Amazon.com must improve its next generation of e-readers.  The reason we got from the Model T Fords to the incredible cars of today in just 100 years is because of competition.

The bottom line:  Competition is good and capitalism builds wealth.  It is the ONLY economic system that does so.  Enjoy the day and celebrate the competitive advantage created by the bold thinking of Capitalists in what is left of our free-market economy. 

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Two back-to-basics things you need to remember this January:

1. Market!  Market!  Market!  Bang the drum, reminding your customers about who you and what why you are the greatest thing to happen since Al Gore invented the Internet.  This how you bring in new customers!   Marketing is especially imporant now, since the economy is showing key signs of rousing from its long winter’s nap.   So, you’d better be in a key position to capitalize on all that pent up demand when would-be buyers start looking around for places to spend that money.  Make sure you name is on their lips.
2. Offer Up Customer Service Like Ham on Rye in a New York Deli!  In other words, generously, as if you were taking care of your own mother.  This is how you keep existing customers coming back time and again!  It always amazes me how some businesses work like dogs to drag in new customers and then treat them like they couldn’t care less if they ever came back.  And then there’s total surprise when they don’t!   

The bottom line:  It doesn’t get any simpler than that.  Remember that the customers are your lifeblood.  Keep them happy and they’ll keep you in the black.

Work hard.  Make money.  Have fun.

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The nature of being an SBO invites burnout.  That’s because, if we’re doing it right, we come home every night on empty – bedraggled, worn out, totally spent.  That can take its toll over time.

I know I’m approaching burnout when I begin having weird fantasies.  In addition to the one about two showgirls and Las Vegas, the more telling one is to dream about working behind the counter at a Quick Trip, putting in my time, punching out, and going home.  Ahhhh!  When I hit that point, I know it’s time to find some way to re-ignite the fire … usually with a new fire.

Example:  I pretty much ran out steam in 2009.  Many of my existing clients were folding up like cheap lawn chairs.  The others were watching their budgets like a wino counting change after a slow day.  Even worse, I had put my creative brain on auto pilot.  The game had changed, and I missed the signs.  

Worst of all, in the middle of all this, I hit burnout.  I watched everything collapse with a yawn.  Bad news at every turn. 

Then I finally woke up.  I didn’t know how I was going to remake my business, but I knew I was going to.  I spent months talking to folks, exploring options, analyzing what I had done wrong, what I could do to make it right.  All I knew for sure was that I had a golden opportunity to start fresh. 

And I did.  I am retooling my business, linking with other pros, and expanding from marketing consultant to business coach, pulling out the stops, capitalizing on my 30 years of business, and providing businesses with full-service management, marketing and sales strategies. 

The goal is simple:  Help my clients boost their incomes and enhance their lifestyles, integrating business success with  personal balance.

Am I fired up?  You bet.  Giving it all I got!  Sometimes I strain an emotional arm swinging at fastballs that lead to strike outs, but I’m also hitting a few home runs out of the park, and that’s my goal each and every day.

What about you?  Getting a bit stale?  Here’s how to re-ignite the fire in your belly: 

# 1:  Have goals and dreams … goals and dreams so real and important to you that you can taste them, feel them, see them. 

What stirs your soul? Where do you want to be next year?  At age 55?  At age 60?  At age 90?

Let yourself dream without any of the “yeah, but…” stuff that can cause you to lose confidence or faith in yourself. 

Not sure what you want?  Get out of town for a few days.  (I used to get in the car and go, returning three or four days later with a new dream in tow.)  Take a week in a monastery or in a fishing cabin up nort’ in Canada or the UP.  Ideas will come.  Dreams will emerge.  That click click click of the auto-igniter in your soul will finally catch an idea and burst into hot flames.

Talk to people … successful people.  Listen to their advice.  Very often, one of them will see the solution to your problem, the answer to your questions immediately. 

# 2:  Feed the flame with motivational books.  Corny.  No way.  In fact, drag a few along with you on your dream quest.  I personally love “The One Minute Millionaire” and my old favorite, “Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude,” as well as Covey’s “Seven Habits.”

# 3:  Go for it.  This ain’t no pony ride.  There are no sure things.  Sure, there is always the risk of failure.  So?  If you fall flat, get up.  There’s no rule that says we only get one shot.  Truth is, we get as many second chances as we are willing to take. 

# 4:  Remember who you are.  If you’re a business owner with the soul of an entrepreneur, that’s both the good news and the bad news.  As you well know (and this is my business  motto): “There’s only one thing worse than working for yourself … and that’s working for somebody else!”

The bottom line:  If you’re doing it right – if you’re giving your business and your life your all, you will hit a wall from time to time; you will burn out.  It’s part of what makes an SBO an SBO.  The trick is to get up and go out – again and again and as often as necessary – to re-ignite your soul, reconnect to your old dream or find a new one … and get back in the game.

Work hard.  Make money.  Have fun.  And never stop dreaming!

And by the way, if you’re interested in taking your business to the next level, give me a call.  I’m so confident that I can help you boost your business results that I’ll give you a three-hour conference, no charge.  Just cover my travel expenses.  Let’s make money and have fun together!   
 
John Ingrisano
The Freestyle Entrepreneur
204 Lakeview Drive
Algoma, WI 54201
(920) 559-3722
January 4, 2010

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My friends say I have no life.  Except for some fishing, spoiling my grandkids, service work with the Lions and experimental cooking with/on my friends and family, I have no major distractions.

That’s because I love to work.  I have found that there is nothing more thrilling than business … both working on mine and helping my clients improve theirs.   And that’s a good thing for my clients.

That’s why I’m available to my clients twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.  Don’t believe me?

Well, to prove it, I’m making a playful, whimsical offer.  It’s also an opportunity for my SBO associates to prove that they’re as dedicated (maniacal?) as I am about business.

Take me up on it and I’ll send you a free copy of my book, The Back to Basics Book of Selling.  No strings.  (Though I will most certainly follow up and offer a free marketing consultation to win your business.  After all, I am a capitalist and a businessman!)

Here’s the deal:  Sure, it’s almost New Year’s Eve. (Or if you’re actually taking a few days off, just into the starting gate of the New Year.)  Still, this is the offer:

I invite you to call me any time, day or night at my personal cell phone number, 920-559-3722, just to say, “Okay, I’m just seeing if you’re for-real on this, John.”  I am.  Sure, I’ll put the bite on you for a follow-up conference call (no charge, btw) to discuss your business, but we’ve already been over this.

Why am I doing this?  Well, it is part whimsy.  I’m curious how many phone calls I will get in the coming days (or nights).  I know that most SBOs work strange hours, and even when they’re not in the shop or at the computer, they’re thinking about how to lower expenses, increase sales and keep from going nuts by dealing with tardy employees, implacable customers, and the joys of jumping through government hoops.

Oh, and once again, here’s the hook, the pot sweetener:  Call and I’ll send you a signed copy of my timeless classic, The Back to Basics Book of Selling.  Free! 

John Ingrisano
The Freestyle Entrepreneur
204 Lakeview Drive
Algoma, WI 54201
920-559-3722

P.S.  No, 920-559-3722 is not some special marketing number.  This is the phone that’s in my pocket, on my nightstand when I’m sleeping, beside me in the car, on the counter in the kitchen when I’m cooking a to-die-for (or just to die) Italian meal. 

If I don’t pick up, it’s because  I’m (A) in the shower; (B) in the bathroom (sorry, but I have my standards); (C) in a crowded room and didn’t hear the ring; or (D) talking to another SBO, my lady love or one of my kids.  If I do miss the call, I promise I’ll get back to you ASAP … if not sooner.  So, call me!

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Hopefully, you are knee deep in 2010 planning … or, if you’re an overachiever, you’re already done.  That means you …  

• Have laid out your goals for the year.
• Mapped out the daily or weekly activities that will bring those goals to realization.
• Are chomping a the bit to break out of the gate on January 4 and charge into 2010.  

Go for it.  But here’s one more thing I want you to consider.  It is crucial, especially in these uncertain times, that you never stop learning, never stop growing.  

 What to do:  Devote half an hour each day to learning more about ways to run your business better, trends in your industry, the competition.  Over a year, that will add up to over 130 hours — more than three 40-hour weeks — devoted to making you better at what you do.  That will give you a huge competitive advantage in your business.  

Where to start:  Well, gee whiz, how about my book, The Back to Basics Book of Selling?  Order it online for $19.94 (plus shipping), or directly from me (send a check to the address below) and I’ll not only autograph it, but also pay the shipping.         

Work hard.  Make money.  Have fun.   

John Ingrisano
The Freestyle Entrepreneur 204 Lakeview Drive
Algoma, WI 54201
(920) 559-3722
December 22, 2009

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Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm. –James Madison

The Issue: As much as Obama & Co. wants to direct the efforts of American business by appearing to be confident, in-charge leaders who know exactly how things will turn out, it’s all an illusion. No one in this administration has gotten his hands dirty in a private business–big or small (yes, I know there are women involved, too; I hate de-gendering on principle)–and that has put our nation’s economy at risk.

What I Think: Make that, what lots of Americans have come to believe!

His polished demeanor and charismatic rhetoric notwithstanding, Barack Obama is dangerous to American business. In grooming this narcissistic community organizer for a presidential run, master-manipulator George Soros had one sinister goal: To profit by advancing the Left’s redistributionist agenda–in effect, a way for America’s Have-Nots to extort Big Bucks from the Haves—while the absurdly criminal Soros works his Big-Money cons on the sidelines. Pretty clever, no?

Not So Fast: This is Still America! You cannot believe New World socialism is good and still be taken seriously by a free people. If we follow the socialist lead of Soros/Obama and redistribute enough wealth long enough, eventually it will all be gone! Wealth has to come from somewhere. That’s why socialism has failed everywhere it’s been tried—except at the end of a gun.

Let’s Get Back to Economics 101. Remember the difference between creating wealth and making money? Making something that was not there before creates wealth. Only a few industries do that–farming, construction, manufacturing and mineral extraction come to mind. But so do small businesses run by you Freestyle Entrepreneurs out there! Other businesses–banking, insurance, Wall Street trading and lawyers–make their money by shuffling other people’s cash around.

We need to prop up those industries and businesses that actually create wealth, as opposed to those that thrive by making money. That’s why merely “creating jobs” is of no real value. After all, jobs can be anywhere, especially in an increasingly large and rapacious government…to become even larger if Mr. Obama’s government-run healthcare scheme ever comes to pass.

No! We must strengthen our key wealth-producing industries and businesses, and then get out of their way. But first, we need to get Barack Obama and his crew of anti-capitalist, anti-American New World socialists out of our way!

With thanks to John Ingrisano and Ron Gurtler for their insights.

What Do You Think? Are you with us on this? Do you, too, want to Take Back America? We’d like to hear from you. Have you registered?

Bill Willard is a commercial freelance writer in Clearwater FL. A high-impact writer and editor for over 30 years, in addition to his byline pieces, Bill’s beat includes ghostwriting and editing for businesses of all types and sizes, professional practitioners and individuals.

Contact him at billw15@tampabay.rr.com to sign up for his popular e-blogs, “Daily Grin” and “Take Back America.”

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• People who work on Wall Street are not evil!
• People are naturally and inherently self-focused, whether in business or in government!  (This is a good thing.)
• People with money are not evil!
• People who work hard to make a lot of money are not evil … even if they do not want to share it with you or me!
• On any given day, government needs more regulation than does business.
• In what’s left of this country, people who are willing to work 16 hour days, six days a week, can eventually make lots of money!  (People who sit on their butts will not.  Any questions?)
• Insurance companies are not greedy!  (I know hundreds of men and women in the insurance industry, and all but two of the ones I know are either downright good or at least borderline nice.)
• Capitalism is not about greed, but about opportunity for people to live and direct their own lives!  (If they make lots of money doing it, good for them.)
• Capitalism does not exploit people!  (It creates opportunity … unlike overbearing governments.)
• Wal-mart does a damn good job!  (It creates jobs and markets for hundreds of thousands of people who might otherwise be picking through trash heaps for a living.)
• There’s nothing wrong with greed!  (Gasp!)
• If greed were illegal, most of Congress would be in jail. 
• Businesses do not  have moral responsibilities to do anything other than not break the law!  (Gasp again!) 
• The purpose of a business is to make a profit!  (Ergo, being accused of being in business to make a profit is not a crime.  Honest.)
• Capitalists make money when they provide goods and services that people want and for prices they are willing to pay.  (Hurray!)
• Capitalists lose money and go broke when they fail to provide goods and services that people want and for prices they are willing to pay. (Tough … but there’s always next year!)
• The purpose of a business is not to provide jobs, but to make a profit!  (Making a profit, however, will create jobs in the long run.)
• It is very, very hard to start, build and keep a business successful!  (People who do it should be admired, not insulted.)
• The government hasn’t a clue how to run a business.
• Capitalism creates wealth!  (Countries with the freest economies are the wealthiest.)
• Socialism destroys wealth!  (How long can we tax “only” the rich people before we have no rich people?)
• Government needs to stay out of business … and business needs to stop looking to government for money! 
• Government cannot “create” competition!  (However, it can get out of the way, even-handedly enforcing contracts and other laws, and thereby enable businesses to compete … and compete they will.)
• When a business does make a profit, that is what creates jobs, generates tax revenue, enables people to buy and stay in their homes, donate to charities, and — yes, it’s true — afford health care!  (Making sense yet?) 
• Accusing banks of not wanting to lend money is stupid!  (That’s what they do, so if they are reluctant to lend money, that means the risks are too high.)
• The role of the government is NOT to run businesses, but instead to assure that rule of law allows others (as in business people) to run their own businesses! 
• It is a disgrace to hear the President of the United States of America spewing out hatred – insulting and berating entire industries and businesses in this country.  

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Amazing!  Every retailer this holiday season (and a whole lot of service people, it seems) is slashing prices to draw in customers.  I suspect more than a few are losing money on every sale … but figure they’ll make it up on volume.  Look for them to go belly up in the first quarter of 2010!  

If you want to compete, find what makes you special, unique … competitive.  If you compete on price and keep cutting your margins, you’ll join a whole lot of other lemmings in the race over the cliff … to the bottom of the heap.  

If times are tough, hunker down.  No desperation moves.  Pull back and identify what Jaynie L. Smith, in her book, Creating Competitive Advantage, calls just that … your competitive advantage.  

“When you compete on price, you’re
accepting commodity status.”    
     –    Jaynie L. Smith           
           (Creating Competitive Advantage)  

Work hard. Work smart.  Make money.  Have fun.

John Ingrisano
The Freestyle Entrepreneur
204 Lakeview Drive
Algoma, WI 54201
(920) 559-3722
December 4, 2009

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Who’d have thought that getting paid would be so tough?  Well, welcome to the recession, often evidenced by customers who try to stretch their payments as far they can.  What to do to collect on overdue bills?  Try the following ten ideas:

1.     Have a system in place to deal with delinquencies.  Establish good collection practices.  This means written policies and procedures that will be used as a guideline when dealing with collection problems.

2.     Do not ignore overdue bills.  The biggest mistake many business owners make it to wait until too much time has passed.  The longer a bills goes unpaid, the more likely it will be uncollectable.  

3.     Rebill promptly, the very day the bill is due.

4.     Pick up the phone and call within a day of rebilling.  Ask for explanations and remind the customer that the bill needs to be paid immediately.

5.     Never apologize.  This is money they owe you.  Payment is not a favor.  Listen and talk, but then be sure to ask the customer to write a check today for the full amount owed.

6.     Be firm but friendly.  You should be understanding, but they must be reasonable.  So, avoid arguments.  Besides, backing that person into a corner will rarely get you paid.  Remember, your goal is to be at the top of the customer’s payment list, not the bottom.

7.     Ask for the full amount.  If the customer wanted a discount, that should have been discussed before the job started.

8.     Negotiate terms, not amounts.  If a customer owes $3,000, agree to monthly payments of $500, interest-free, provided the first check arrives in five days.  Also stress that if a payment is missed or late, the remainder will immediately go to collections.  No follow-up discussions.

9.     Send a pre-collection letter.  This should come from an attorney.  This formal, third-party demand letter is often all that is required to obtain payment.

10. Start the collection process.  Provide all information to the agency and let them handle it from there.

The bottom line:  You work too hard for your money to let a client or customer simply not pay money you are owed.  The above ten tips will help reduce the number of no-pay and slo-pay invoices.  Good luck.   

John Ingrisano
The Freestyle Entrepreneur
204 Lakeview Drive
Algoma, WI 54201
(920) 559-3722

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Like Charlie Brown in a Peanuts cartoon standing by the mailbox in hope of receiving a Valentine’s Day card, too many of us small business owners  these days find ourselves anxiously waiting for the arrival of that overdue payment. 

If the problem gets too serious, it can domino-affect our entire lives –  as we stretch our mortgage payment … max out our credit card limits … make minimum payments on bills … ignore an invoice or two (especially if from another, no-clout small business owner) … and wake up at three AM wondering how much cash value we can strip out of our life insurance policy or the kids’ college fund … or just lie there in the dark listening to the financial and emotional infrastructure of our lives as it begins to creak, teeter, snap and slowly topple.

Though all companies are vulnerable to the problem of customers who play the game of slow-pay-no-pay, it is usually the small business owner who feels it first and feels it hardest. 

Fortunately, it does not have to be that way.  While there is no guarantee that all invoices will be paid promptly, there is a lot business owners can do to take charge of the slow-pay-no-pay problem. 

The best way to solve a slow-pay-no-pay problem is to avoid it from the start.  Here is what the experts recommend:

• Have a credit policy in place.  This is the single best way to reduce late payments.  Unfortunately, only about 5% of companies have such a policy in writing.
• Discuss your credit policy with customers.  The minute you get a new customer, explain the payment process.  Still, many businesses hesitate.  They have a misconception that that it will scare people away.  At the minimum, include a paragraph in the contract.  This sets expectations, and it goes a long way to avoiding problems in the future.
• Have a contract.  Everything should be in writing.  The business should use a contract to outline what service they will provide, how they will get paid and how much, and what will happen if the customer does not pay. 
• Take deposits, retainers or credit card payments.  If a customer cannot prepay, there is a good chance they cannot pay at all.  If the customer does not have the funds to make a down payment now, where will the money come from to pay the bill at the completion of the job?
•  For bigger contracts, set up a payment schedule.  On a $15,000 job, for example, ask for equal payments of $5,000 initially, $5,000 at the halfway mark, and the final $5,000 upon completion of all work.  Also include sign-off on each step, with no work going forward without written approval of what has already been completed. 
• Consider credit applications.  A small investment up front can safe you thousands of dollars later.
• Tighten up due dates.  Mark the due date on all invoices as 15 days.
• Focus on customers who can pay.  It may sound obvious, but keep in mind that no business is better than bad business.  

There are no guarantees that you will never have collection problems.  Still, the above steps should go a long way to reducing the slow-pay-no-pay problem, and maintaining not only your cash flow, but also your peace of mind.

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Issue of the Week

We’ve Made It This Far. What Next?

The Issue:

In 2006, the oldest of 78.2 million Baby Boomers, the generation born between 1946 and 1964, turned 60. That, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, works out to 7,918 turning 60 every day, or 330 every hour!

But if you think you know where I’m going with this, stick around.

What I Think:

First some background: Sue and I passed that “turning 60” milestone a couple of years back, but didn’t think much of it at the time. That was then, this is now.

As you know, I’m a writer freelancing my way through the 25 years since my Managing Editor gig in Indianapolis was downsized out the door. But as Sue pointed out at the time: “Freelancers can do what they do anywhere. Why not do it in Florida?”

That’s all it took. Within weeks, Sue, our son, Bill Jr. (12 at the time) and I had moved to Tampa, and never looked back.

Sue soon found her calling in Workers’ Compensation claims, advancing from entry-level Office Adjuster in 1985 to Claims Team Supervisor. When she took early retirement in October, the tributes from her company and co-workers were clear expressions of how highly regarded Sue was–make that is!

Stuff Happens

But saying that Sue’s work ethic, intelligence, gentility and buckets of determination are what have allowed us to build a happy life on beautiful Tampa Bay is a rather large understatement.

Sue kept us going—literally–through my two kidney transplants, 1992 and 2007…with months of pre-op dialysis and extended post-op recoveries, plus a couple of bouts with cancer. You might say that for a good chunk of our time down here I’ve been a freelance writer-cum-professional patient!

To their credit, Sue and Bill–who both offered up their kidneys when my original equipment and first transplant went south—never lost the faith! Or as young Bill (now Captain Willard, USMC) would say: Semper Fi, Dad!

Together Again for the First Time?

That term refers to the phenomenon that prompted me to write this, and which (to tie it up into a neat package) many couples may soon be experiencing as you, too, reach retirement age, especially if you’ve been running a business from home.

When both spouses retire, every day is a weekend! That means everything you’ve both been accustomed to doing on your own all those years will now be done together. Every married couple is unique, and there are no easy answers. But if one of you has been running a home business, and intends to continue doing that after the your better half retires, brace yourselves for some major league adjustments.

For one thing, starting when you’re fixing coffee or feeding the animals in the morning, expect to be running into each other every time you turn around. And that will be just the first of many awkward moments throughout the day.

I’ll be writing a lot more about this in coming months, but here’s my first take on preventing some serious discord from spoiling what should be among the happiest times of your married life. I call each of these “Phases”:

• Phase 1: Awakening  – – This is a big, big change; the sooner you both understand where you are and what you need to do the better.
• Phase 2: Accommodating – Plan ahead. Agree to who does what when! Long term, short term. This is a day-to-day necessity, but it gets easier.
• Phase 3: Reconciliation– Communication is essential in coming to terms with the future. A word to the wise: Do not let petty grievances fester.
• Phase 4: Reconfirmation – Do what works for you both, spiritually and in the here-and-now. If a public renewal of your vows seems to be in order, go for it!
• Phase 5: The Long Good Bye – None of us is getting out of this deal alive. Sue and I intend living out our remaining years with purpose and passion, daily exercise, a sense of adventure and mutual respect–and no regrets.

If We Can Do This, So Can You!

No one claimed it would be easy, but as I said, every married couple is different. Financial issues aside, everyone approaching retirement should prepare for the kinds of things I’ve been ranting about. They took a couple of old hands like Sue and me by surprise, but we’re working our way through these issues one day at a time—just as we’ve done with everything since pledging our love and commitment, 14 June 1969.

What Do You Think? Was this a News Flash, or had you already snapped to the potential problems facing retirees who suddenly find themselves together again for the first time after many, many years? We want to hear from you. Have you registered?

Bill Willard is a freelance writer in Clearwater FL. He has been a high-impact writer and editor for over 30 years. In addition to his byline pieces, Bill’s beat includes ghostwriting and editing for businesses of all types and sizes, professional practitioners and individuals.

Bill is a www.thefreestyleentrepreneur.com Contributing Author and creates the popular email missives, Daily Grin and Take Back America. To sign up for one or both–or simply to contact him–email Bill at billw15@tampabay.rr.com. Or visit his Website: www.writergazette.com/WillardAssociates.shtml

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