HR: Discover the Cheapest Motivator on the Planet

What’s Your Name?

Billions are spent each year on perks and incentives to motive employees, but what everyone fails to understand is the best music to everyone’s ears is the sound of their own name.

Simply calling someone by his/her name makes you appear sincere and caring. It shows that you care enough to: 1) remember their name and 2) to use it! That is the reason I always wear my name tag. I have a very difficult time remembering names and when people see my name tag they usually respond by saying, “Hi, Betty. I’m Suzie.” A blessing in disguise for me — now I know her name is Suzie. What did you say your name was?

Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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1 Comment January 26, 2010

Marketing: Your Personal Brand

How Your Personal Brand Affects Your Business Brand

“What is your personal style? How does it effect your sales?” A speaker posed this question at an eWomen’s Conference (http://www.ewomennetwork.com) that I attended. Strong thinking material. She talked about the popularity of the TV series, Sex in the City, being magnetic to the audience because of the relationships between the main characters. Those TV characters were defined or branded in such a way that we could all relate to one of them. They each had their own style, personality and appeal.

Are you recognized when you walk into a room? Does your style shine through? What have you tried to make your personal brand unforgettable? Share your tips below.

Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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1 Comment January 19, 2010

Franchising: Is It Right for Me?

Things to Consider Before Buying a Franchise

If you have a limited business background, you may want to consider buying a franchise.  There are many benefits invloved. When considering a franchise, keep the following five tips in mind:

1. You are a customer to the franchisor. Many people believe that going into a franchise is like joining a partnership where you, the franchisee, will be protected from failure. This is not true. While franchisee companies have a much higher success rate than individual start-up companies, up to 20 percent of all franchises do not do well. However, this failure rate is far lower than that of individual start ups.
2. You and the franchisor have different goals. Although both parties; franchisee and franchisor, have the common goal of building the brand, the franchisor’s goal is to sell franchises and the franchisee’s goal is to service the consumer or end user.
3. You may not have an ongoing relationship with the franchisor sales representative. If you are dealing with an independent agent or with one of the brokerage houses which represent franchisors, chances are that although they are knowledgeable about the franchise, you will not see that person after the point of sale. If you are dealing with a sales person salaried by the franchisor, s/he will want to work with you in the future, and that may cause the sales process to take on a different perspective.
4. You have legal rights when dealing with the franchisor. Be careful if the franchisor tells you how much you can earn if you invest in their system. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires that franchisors who make such claims provide you with written substantiation. Be sure to ask for and receive this. If they don’t provide it, consider the claims to be suspect.
5. You are protected by the UFOC. The Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC) defines what the franchisor will do for you and expects of you. You must carefully review the UFOC before purchasing the franchise. The FTC protects franchisee prospects up until the point of sale, but after this, the UFOC becomes vitally important.

What franchise questions do you have? Leave a comment below.

Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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Leave a Comment January 12, 2010

Franchising: What is it?

Franchising Demystified

Franchising is nothing more or less than a way to distribute products or services. The big trick is to find the business that fits you and your lifestyle. There are always at least two parties involved in any franchise agreement: the franchisee (someone who buys a franchise) and the franchisor (franchise your existing business). The most important factor the in the equation is that it fits your strengths and talents. If you are new to the world of business, being a franchisee can be a good option. If you are successful and want a way to duplicate your business, consider becoming a franchisor.

If you’re considering buying or selling a franchise, find out more. Come back next week for more. Don’t forget to check out the great resources at www.score.org. Here are a few articles below.

• Read Part 1, Should I Buy a Franchise?
• Read Part 2, Selecting the Right Franchise for You
• Read Part 3, Growing the Successful Franchise 
• What is an FDD and UFOC?

Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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Leave a Comment January 5, 2010

Leadership: Public Speaking Disasters

Mistakes Happen to the Best of Us

I’m pretty good in front of a group and don’t have trouble responding to spontaneous questions because I pride myself on being prepared – following all we are taught to do – build rapport with the audience, display enthusiasm, know what you want to say and practice practice practice.  BUT (and there always is a BUT), at an awards show I was not given the names of the recipients until on stage. Names  of folks from countries I had never heard of  in a language that, I was told was English, but I had serious doubts. I did my best, but still looked pretty illiterate.  What to do when you are faced with an audience that expects polish and poise and all you can do is smile and babble. I guess you smile and do your best.

The important point is that it happens to the best of us and all we can do is realize the world didn’t come to an end. Yes, many folks find public speaking difficult, but audiences are forgiving and with practice a little confidence soon builds into strong confidence. I have been in front of many audiences since then, but the memory of that event keeps me humble and when I am tempted not to practice, it brings on instant motivation. The big lesson I learned was not to be too hard on myself — and don’t do awards shows without knowing the names of the recipients!

What are your public speaking nightmare stories?  I know you have some.  We ALL have some.

Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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2 Comments December 29, 2009

Customer Service: Building Trust

The 80-20 Rule

People do business with people they know, like and trust. It is your job to validate the trust they place in you. Think about your customer base. How many really good customers do you have? 

The 80-20 rule applies here.  Don’t spend 80 percent of your time on the 80 percent of occasional customers. Consider the top 20 percent of loyal clients and provide something important to them–80 percent of your time. Increase your value to them by generating mutual loyalty and trust.

How do you add value? Not sure, talk it over with a SCORE mentor.

 Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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Leave a Comment December 15, 2009

Customer Service: Making a Difference

A Few Tips on Better Customer Service

1. Make sure every customer touch is led by someone who is trained to act as you would and has the latitude to make appropriate decisions.
   
2. Go beyond client requests.  Suggest complimentary products or services. Think Nordstrom! Consistently ask for feedback and make appropriate changes. Find out what is valuable to clients and address those needs.
   
3. Know your competition and be faster, more customized, better made, more reliable, etc. Think in terms of benefits to the client, not your features. Establish the reason they should buy from you and not from your competition. Your positioning is in their mind, so verify for with clients that no one else can do it as well as you.

Talk with a SCORE mentor to improve your client service. Ask SCORE today.

 Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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Leave a Comment December 8, 2009

Marketing: Social Networking

Easy Ways to Keep in Touch with Your Clients

As a small business owner, keep your relationship with clients current, and your marketing fresh and focused. This will allow your clients to anticipate hearing more from you. Keep it personal with frequent interactions. Email, blogging, twittering and all social networking make it easy to keep in touch. Web sites are standard for the smallest of businesses, so make yours interactive and keep the information on it new and current.

How do you use social networking to keep your clients up to date?

Try these resources.

Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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3 Comments October 5, 2009

Life Balance: Summer Fun from Labor Day

Relax and Recharge

I hope you enjoyed a break this summer.

Fellow entrepreneurs, I can speak from experience when I say, it’s so important to recharge your battery.

Each year, I take a family vacation, a week with no…well little…technology. It slows down the pace, opens the mind.

Be sure to really relax and recharge from time to time. It’s amazing how a real break can rejuvenate your thinking. Take a balance break from time to time.

How do you find life balance?

Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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5 Comments September 9, 2009

Marketing: The Smaller the Niche…

The Ideal Client

I once heard someone say, The smaller the niche, the more you get rich”. Sounds weird, doesn’t it, but it proves to be true. The first thing I ask my SCORE marketing clients is, “who is your customer?” You’d be surprised by 80% of the clients who answer, ‘everyone’.

Everyone is not an ideal client. Everyone is not someone to which you can direct your marketing. Everyone doesn’t exist. When you take time to define who is your ideal client – age, lifestyle, buying habits, economic level, etc. – you can narrow down your marketing to where they live and work directing your time, talents and money only toward qualified prospects. This is especially true now when the the majority of successful marketing is done either online or in physical networking.

What blogs are your clients reading and are you considered an expert on those blogs? Knowing what web sites they use for reference tells you what sites are good links for you. If you know what networking groups they belong to, you can join those groups, also. By identifying your strategic partners you help your partners, yourself and your client.

Start with the biggest problem you can solve and then determine in great detail who has that problem. Of course, the chain doesn’t stop there as now that you know who they are you have make yourself known, build their trust and develop a strong relationship. Sounds like a lot of work, well, it is, but well worth it. If you are reading this you are probably already on your way to successfully knowing your client. Congratulations.

Tell me more – how did you figure out your client niche? Does this rule work for you? Did for me. Wish I had known it sooner.

Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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6 Comments September 1, 2009