Sorry Don Draper -The Mad Men Days Are Over

I love the series Mad Men. In my opinion, it is brilliantly written and wonderfully cast. It is Sunday night heaven. However, I am not in love with today's mad men- you know-the ones that have huge budgets, but get shockingly litttle done. The ones with the mysterious “entertainment” expenses and the ever-increasing costs. Well, my friends, those days are over. We now have increased creativity and better productivity available to us at a lower rate. How? Here are some ways that companies are forging ahead to the future and leaving those 4 hour lunches behind.

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Crowdsourcing 

Perhaps the most effective method of accomplishing your company’s advertising goals is to utilize crowd sourcing. For those of you who haven’t experienced this amazement, crowd sourcing is a method of outsourcing. It eliminates the traditional third party contractor and instead looks to a large group of people via an open call. Currently, there are more than 100 crowd sourcing platforms available for marketing and design work. Plus, it saves BIG. We have been able to utilize services that would normally cost 60-70% more at a typical advertising firm. Breaking down big projects into smaller parts doesn’t just save money from the big ad firms-it also gives you the advantage of getting different creative minds instead of just one team.

Internet Ads

Every day we are faced with amazing internet ads that are far more impressive than their internet counterparts. The internet ads have a higher view rate and can give you viewer feedback at a much quicker rate. Despite all of these incentives to make the switch, many businesses are still leery of making the jump because they do not know what it entails. Brandtv and others like them are helping businesses do this by offering a buy-in-advance internet marketing strategy that is identical to television ad placement except at a much cheaper rate.

Social media

Whether it’s Facebook Likes or Twitter followers, social media properties offer marketers the chance to observe users’ self-professed preferences, rather than relying on implied or survey-determined prefers. It enables consumers to post reviews and recommendations and act as a distribution channel for them and for advertiser messages. Of course, viral word-of-mouth exists offline, but social media greases the wheels and accelerates that viral spread. Social media enables marketers and brands to take the pulse of their customers and prospects in real time, where traditional media has to rely on slower market research techniques.

Buddy-ing up

It has been reported that 40% of business owners did not advertise because of the financial market.  A great way to work around your less than premium ad budget is by teaming up with other smaller companies to create dual-super powerful ads. For more information on this option, I would suggest reading a great article that recently came out in the Wall St Journal http://bit.ly/aD7OQI 

I would love to get your thoughts on the new age of advertising. As always, you can contact me at Jdanner@peoplelease.com

How to Motivate Your Slackers-Part 2

 

Throw the bad apples out

One of the best ways to keep your employees motivated is to show that you recognize the difference between those who are working hard and those that are not. Holding people accountable in a fair way keeps everyone cognizant of what is and what is not acceptable. Disgruntled and disengaged people can put a tamper on the enthusiasm and creativity that your team needs to improve performance

Communicate effectively

Having open communication and sharing information to your team can go a long way on eliminating fears from the workplace. When your employees get a clear direction they are more equipped to work effectively. If you are indecisive, your employee is unlikely to work hard on something that may be for naught.

Provide recognition

There is a general thought among employers that more money equals more recognition. While, compensation is crucial to an employee’s well-being, equally as important is fulfilling their desire for recognition of their achievements. Sometimes money isn’t the solution, but your appreciation is! Motivating your employees by focusing on their strengths rather than their weaknesses instills loyalty to you and your company. That emotional investment that your recognition gives will provide them the enthusiasm to work hard even when faced with a daunting task.

Be inspiring: have a vision

Sometimes, being a strong leader means that you have to bring that strength to your organization. When your staff understands what you and your businesses motivating factor is, it makes them feel part of a team. There is a strong trend of people that are voluntarily taking positions with less pay, so that they can work in an inspiring work environment.

I hope all of these tips will be helpful in motivating your staff-

Tell me what you think at Jdanner@peoplelease.com

How to Motivate Your Slackers-Part 1

According to a recent survey, 70% of Americans are slackers: 20% are actively disengaged and 50% are not particularly committed. What turns a talented employee into a slacker? A lot of this disengagement comes from not receiving what they need from their employer. According to the Harvard Business Review, employees need the following:

  

Equity: To be respected and treated fairly in areas such as pay, benefits, and job security

Achievement: To be proud of one’s job, accomplishments, and employer

Camaraderie: To have good, productive relationships with fellow employees

In order to for your employees to maintain motivation, all of these must be present. Research has shown that employees that are missing at least one of these elements are three times less enthusiastic and motivated about their job. However, implementing these insights into action can be tricky. Here are some ways to turn your employees from slackers to machers:

Engage their families

No amount of job rewards can out-influence the significant other. If your employee comes home every night to their loved one asking, “When are you going to stop working for that jerk?” they will probably not be very motivated to work hard or be emotionally invested in your company. Conversely, if your employee has a bad day at work and comes home to, “you have a great job-tomorrow will be better”, they will be much more likely to be motivated to get back to work the next day. One of the best ways to do this is to make sure that new employees have a great first day. 85% of companies have a sharp decrease in employees’ morale after the first six months. One of the biggest reasons for this is because of the very slow start that many employees have at new jobs. Almost all new employees start with motivation and enthusiasm, but that quickly wanes when they are left in their office for the first week with nothing to do. Providing them with a quick start and a friendly environment can go a long way in securing the support of your spouse.

Change the focus from boss to customer

One of the best ways to ramp up the potential in your company is to unleash your employees.  Instead of keeping them focused on pleasing you, give them the responsibility of pleasing your customers. When you give your employees responsibility and let them create a relationship with the clients, they will be motivated to do everything they can to make your customers happy.

I will post the rest of the ways to motivate your employees later on this afternoon!

As always, I love to get your thoughts! Email me at JDanner@peoplelease.com

How to Protect Your Small Business From Fraud

Last week, a report came out from the Association of Credit Fraud Examiners (ACFE) which revealed that small businesses are victimized much more often than large businesses, and for much more money. The study found that 30 percent of frauds took place in businesses with 100 employees or fewer, and 53 percent in businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees.The 100-or-fewer group accounted for both the highest percentage of frauds of any group, as well as the highest median dollar amount taken in those frauds — about $150,000, a figure almost double the median amount taken in frauds against the largest businesses analyzed in the study.

Managers and small business owners have a tendency to trust their employees to a higher degree and, because they are doing more, they may not be as detail oriented as they should be,” says Allan Bachman, education manager for the ACFE. “That level of trust is often betrayed. Sometimes employees start taking advantage of the fact that the boss isn't looking and thinks I'm doing a great job.”

Employees have the inside track and understand how a business works, which puts them in unique position to go undetected while perpetuating many different types of schemes.The most common types of insider frauds include theft of assets and accounting frauds, but this type of crime can also include other categories, such as fraudulent worker’s compensation claims.  Other common schemes include buying more goods than a business needs and lining their own pockets, paying invoices to an external third party for fraudulent orders, or creating fictitious vendors. Accounts payable is another area where insiders may be skimming money by taking cash payments and failing to report them or replacing today’s payments with cash paid at later dates.

Small businesses have weaknesses in terms of controls, such as putting the same employee in charge of making deposits and reconciling bank statements. Allowing one employee/department to perform multiple critical functions is inconsistent with preventing fraud. By dividing the responsibility of certain functions, a system of checks and balances is created and this creates an environment where fraud is less likely to occur. Businesses should consider the following examples to establish better checks and balances:

1.      Split accounting functions.

One of the best ways to prevent employee fraud is to split the accounting functions. Make sure that the person who receives incoming payments is not the same person who posts them to your accounting service.

2.  Guard your company’s checks

Always avoid signing blank checks or checks made out to cash. In addition, limit the number of people that are authorized to transfer company funds or to sign the checks.

3. Protect the monthly bank statements and your credit card statements

Make sure that the statements are sent directly to your home or delivered unopened to you and you review them to ensure that there are no inconsistencies.

4. Reconcile your payments

Reconcile your incoming payments with the amounts that get posted in your books and deposited in your bank. This three-way reconciling method prevents potential fraud.  

5. Outsource your payroll.

Perhaps the most effective way to prevent fraud is to outsource your payroll. This is a hassle-free way to deter employees from tampering with your payroll. In addition, this method prevents simple mistakes that are often made by small business accountants and small business owners.

If you are interested in outsourcing your payroll, give us a shout at http://www.peoplelease.com/contact.html

Either way, I’d love to get your thoughts. As always, you can contact me at jdanner@peoplelease.com

The Art of Becoming Friends First and Making the Sale Second

In February of 2008, I fell in love. Actually, my husband, James, and I both fell in love with an adorable little puppy named Roy Rogers. Despite the initial unusual name, we were smitten. So, during a Mardi Gras parade in Metairie, Louisiana, little Tebow became ours. (For those of you who are uneducated in the fine art of Florida football, let me explain. Tim Tebow was the 2007 Heisman trophy winner, who led the Gators to national championships in 2006 and 2008.) Obviously, you can see why our sweet little puppy needed such a kick-ass name. Like all first time parents, we did all the ridiculous things like buying a $30 leash and taking him to puppy training where he learned how awesome it was to pee in PetSmart. After those initial debacles, we read all the books and became fairly adept dog trainers. We also decided to take him to the local dog park. Unfortunately, the local dog park (and the only dog park in Mississippi) happens to be in a town just outside of Hattiesburg called Petal. Petal is not exactly what one would call a bustling metropolis… in fact, po-dunk would probably be a more appropriate term. We expected that Tebow would get some much needed socialization, what we didn’t expect was that James and I would as well. We have met all kinds of people at the dog park-most of them we would have never gotten a chance to meet and would have certainly never become friends with. There were definitely some unusual people-and we really had nothing in common except that we loved our dogs-but somehow it worked. We became friends with many of our dog park acquaintances because we had a shared interest.

Our dog park experience has revolutionized my idea about sales. The fact is, you are a lot more likely to buy a product or a service from someone you trust, someone you have spent time with, and someone who has listened to you-a friend. The dog park taught me that you can become friends with almost anyone-there is always some similar interest that can connect you to another person. The true art of selling is the empathy that only a friend can provide. When you become a true friend to someone, you find out their problems, find out what makes them tick, and find out what their passions are. Be empathetic to their life. Find ways to connect to them. Not only will this provide you with the information necessary to convince them of their need for your product, it will also open their mind up to listening to what you have to say. The process does not have to be exceptionally long or involved, but it does have to be genuine. People will almost invariably say no when ideas are sprung on them, but will say yes when eased in.  Just as a friend would do, make sure and bring up all the parts of your business/service that may not be favorable to them-this will validate the friendship and validate your honesty as a salesperson. Of course, being a genuinely nice person is always good for you and your company!

I would love to get your thoughts on this issue. You can reach me at Jdanner@peoplelease.com

Citibank & Business Professionalism

Yesterday the web exploded with this:

So, I know that a lot of people have found this release to be very offensive. I, for one, do not. Actually, I pretty much agree with everything that is said. All of the points listed seem to be pretty accurate to me. My one point of contention is that I think it should say people instead of women-not out of some misguided feminist notion, but because I genuinely think that a lot of these characteristics are perpetuated by men as well. Take number one, for instance, speak softly-I have known many men who were disregarded and left out of the “inner circle” because they spoke softly, hunched over, and generally did not present themselves with confidence. Or take # 4- how many men have you known that have not spoken up in meetings and been passed over for promotions? Even # 7-wasn’t George Bush accused of doing that? I find it interesting that very few comments have been made about the validity of this post. I have always felt that women tried to be manly in order to succeed in the business world, but did so in the wrong way by cutting their hair or dressing in a more masculine way. I do not think that this post is mandating that women be masculine in order to survive-I think it is saying that in order to be a successful business person, you need to act like a business person. To me, the traits listed are not necessarily womanly, just inappropriate for business.

What do you think? Send me your thoughts at jdanner@peoplelease.com