Casual Articles - Business

Asset And Sales Finance Can Aid Business Development
When it comes to setting up a new business, it can be difficult to come to terms with business terminology - especially if the process of setting up and running a company is completely alien to you. For instance, speaking to your bank about asset and sales finance may be a daunting notion in itself; but when you consider the possibility of getting tangled up in the jargon - and perhaps even losing credibility with your bank - the experience seems even more intimidating. However, if you keep your wits about you and make sure that you're up to date on the latest financial terms, your bank's asset and finance solutions are sure to benefit your business. Make sure you begin with the basics: for starters, familiarize yourself with what asset and sales finance is. Essentially, asset and sales finance is

TurningPointe? marketing assessment!

Get organized. Use the results of the marketing assessment to stimulate discussion about where to start. At this point, if you’ve not done market strategy and planning before, call in an expert. It’ll save you lots of time in the end, since you’ll START with a strategic marketing plan that makes sense for your firm and is realistic to implement.

Some basics to consider when developing your plan include:

• Keep it simple; don’t take on too much at once. Spread out your deadlines.

• Identify a mix of short-term, easily implemented goals and longer-term, harder-to-implement goals. Build in some quick “wins” for an immediate return on your investment.

• Prioritize but be flexible; be willing to change dates or put things on hold when other marketing priorities make sense (which means you don’t stop, you just shift).

• Identify the obstacles (people, time, money, lack of expertise, etc.) that could derail you and plan tasks for

Welding Defects - How to Prevent Them!
There are welding defects that are sometimes overlooked or not considered. Each welding project requires careful considerations. They include:The process, the type of welding i.e. stick, MIG, TIG.The composition of the base metal and thickness.The welding position, i. e. flat, vertical, horizontal, overhead.The weld joint and type.Electrical supply and equipment.And finally, the welding techniques to be used.To minimize the chance of welding defects be sure to consider 1) the travel speed of the pass; 2) the size and type electrode; 3) machine settings; 4) make sure the welding is done in accordance with the plan and the current conditions.Most of, or a great deal of, welding defects can be identified

First in a series of three articles

Regardless of your law firm’s focus – criminal, civil, corporate, family, business, etc. – the greatest challenge most small to mid-size firms face is the lack of a strategic and disciplined approach to business development. Relying on referrals does not a strategy make! And waiting to get serious about marketing until that major case is wrapped up is way too late.

Whether you’re frustrated with past marketing efforts that have been expensive, time-consuming, and haven’t paid off…or you think you can’t afford to take a sophisticated, results-driven approach to business development like the big firms do, guess again. While your firm may not have its own in-house marketing expert on staff or the generous marketing budgets that the larger firms enjoy, you can systematically and affordably attract more clients than you ever thought possible. It just takes a thoughtful strategy that leverages the laws of marketing, and an ordered approach to stay on track.

Laws of Marketing

First and foremost, marketing is NOT about brochures, websites, advertising or cold calls. These things may or may not be tools that make sense for your firm, once you’ve leveraged the laws of marketing.

There are two basic laws of marketing1 that must be mastered by professional service providers who want to stop wasting time and money on ineffective marketing efforts. They are:

1. Build your base (carefully craft your message)

2. Reach out to your market (build and nurture relationships)

Here’s a quick look at what each of these laws requires…

Build Your Base. This law means spending thoughtful time defining your firm’s niche, developing language that grabs your prospects’ attention, articulating what makes your firm stand out from other firms offering the same services, demonstrating your value, and illustrating your firm’s authority to deliver better than all other choices.

Unfortunately, 90% of professional service firms ignore the law of “build your base” and rush to communicate about their firm without a carefully articulated message. This leaves your target audience unconvinced or, at best, confused about how your firm can serve them better than all others vying for their attention. Invest a little time in building your firm’s base, and you’ll be ahead of most of your competitors.

Reach Out to Your Market. This law involves developing and implementing a system of strategies to build and sustain relationships with your target market and current clients. They are executed both offline and online. They are done systematically and repeatedly. They work in synergy to create an unstoppable buzz and attraction to your firm that takes on a desirable life of its own, once you’ve put them in place. These strategies include things like networking, direct outreach (personal or mass mail), PR, articles and speaking, keep-in-touch systems, using technology to attract, develop, and retain relationships; tapping centers of influence, developing joint ventures, launching a client relationship strategy, using a customer creation system, pursuing a relationship selling strategy, introducing a win-win fee strategy, and developing next-level strategies for current clients.

Orderly Conduct

This is the hard part for most law firms...making marketing happen is a function of carving out the time from precious billable hours - not an easy task! However, you can do it, especially if you take a disciplined and orderly approach to staying on track. This means you have to…

Get focused. Schedule a meeting with key decision-makers in your firm to discuss making a commitment to marketing. You don’t have to make any major decisions at this first meeting, except determine how much time you can commit weekly to your firm’s marketing efforts. Start small (2 hours per person) and put it in your schedules. Then schedule your next marketing meeting to discuss the results of your homework, the attached Are You Ready for a TurningPointe? marketing assessment!

Some basics to consider when developing your plan include:

• Keep it simple; don’t take on too much at once. Spread out your deadlines.

• Identify a mix of short-term, easily implemented goals and longer-term, harder-to-implement goals. Build in some quick “wins” for an immediate return on your investment.

• Prioritize but be flexible; be willing to change dates or put things on hold when other marketing priorities make sense (which means you don’t stop, you just shift).

• Identify the obstacles (people, time, money, lack of expertise, etc.) that could derail you and plan tasks for h

Measuring Return On Investment
...or Is My Brand Working?To measure the impact and effectiveness of marketing and branding on the bottom line alone is a mistake. There are far too many facets of the success equation. It is easy to lose enthusiasm and focus if there are no intermediate benchmarks of success for activities that will ultimately affect the bottom line.The value of reputation, relationships, brand awareness and consumer attitudes related to your business, are impossible to measure just on financial return.A thorough evaluation of where your business is now and the identification of the most important next goal is a good place to start.Other measures of ROI are:-number of leads generated-total sales revenue generated-change in awareness of your brand – attention form the media

Laws of Marketing

There are two basic laws of marketing1 that must be mastered by professional service providers who want to stop wasting time and money on ineffective marketing efforts. They are:

1. Build your base (carefully craft your message)

2. Reach out to your market (build and nurture relationships)

Here’s a quick look at what each of these laws requires…

Orderly Conduct

Some basics to consider when developing your plan include:

• Keep it simple; don’t take on too much at once. Spread out your deadlines.

• Identify a mix of short-term, easily implemented goals and longer-term, harder-to-implement goals. Build in some quick “wins” for an immediate return on your investment.

• Prioritize but be flexible; be willing to change dates or put things on hold when other marketing priorities make sense (which means you don’t stop, you just shift).

• Identify the obstacles (people, time, money, lack of expertise, etc.) that could derail you and plan tasks for

A Powerful, Profit-Generating Strategy Any Business Can Use
Teleconferences, also known as teleseminars, are fast becoming one of the most valuable strategies you can use to increase your market position, your lead generation list and your profit margins. You can quickly become known as an expert in both your field and market through the power of teleconferences.Why Host A Teleconference? Consultants, coaches, speakers and trainers can literally make tens of thousands - even hundreds of thousands – of high profit margin dollars without ever having to leave home.Vendors can easily educate their client base through the proper use of teleconferences. By doing this you are becoming a more valuable resource to clients.Benefits of Teleseminars Here are only a few of the benefits of teleconferences and teleseminars:• Expand Your Market Reachore the law of “build your base” and rush to communicate about their firm without a carefully articulated message. This leaves your target audience unconvinced or, at best, confused about how your firm can serve them better than all others vying for their attention. Invest a little time in building your firm’s base, and you’ll be ahead of most of your competitors.

Orderly Conduct

Some basics to consider when developing your plan include:

• Keep it simple; don’t take on too much at once. Spread out your deadlines.

• Identify a mix of short-term, easily implemented goals and longer-term, harder-to-implement goals. Build in some quick “wins” for an immediate return on your investment.

• Prioritize but be flexible; be willing to change dates or put things on hold when other marketing priorities make sense (which means you don’t stop, you just shift).

• Identify the obstacles (people, time, money, lack of expertise, etc.) that could derail you and plan tasks for

Technologies Impact on Medical Device Clean Rooms
Over the years, medical device cleanrooms have become more cost effective in both initial cost and operating cost due to advances in technology and methods.My first experience with cleanrooms was in 1967 with the first laminar flow room built for Honeywell’s Solid State Electronics Center in Plymouth, Minnesota. That room has been in constant use for 39 years. There were no filter changes in those 39 years. The system was upgraded with ULPA (ultra low penetration air) filters in 2004 even though the HEPA(high efficiency particulate air) filters were not loaded.Then in the early 1970s, Medtronic built their headquarter campus on the north side of the Twin Cities. Manufacturing was moved from St. Anthony to the new campus and a new cleanroom. This room was the first cleanroom for medical device ma

influence, developing joint ventures, launching a client relationship strategy, using a customer creation system, pursuing a relationship selling strategy, introducing a win-win fee strategy, and developing next-level strategies for current clients.

Orderly Conduct

Some basics to consider when developing your plan include:

• Keep it simple; don’t take on too much at once. Spread out your deadlines.

• Identify a mix of short-term, easily implemented goals and longer-term, harder-to-implement goals. Build in some quick “wins” for an immediate return on your investment.

• Prioritize but be flexible; be willing to change dates or put things on hold when other marketing priorities make sense (which means you don’t stop, you just shift).

• Identify the obstacles (people, time, money, lack of expertise, etc.) that could derail you and plan tasks for

Why Having Blank Business Cards Is A Smart Idea?
According to Tom Cruise’s character in Jerry Maguire, the world is full of tough competitors vying for your business. Knowing this, business owners should excel at meeting and keeping potential clients. Blank business cards are one way companies can spread the word about their business. Whenever a new employee is hired, businesses can use Microsoft Word and other word applications to personalize business cards with a company logo. This is handed to the employee until new cards are purchased from a printer.Business cards are some of the more powerful tools out there. Spending that extra dollar to reflect a professional piece of paper is worth it. Different business cards may be as creative as you’d like, with printing on glossy or colored paper to excite your client or cards printed on laminated stock f

TurningPointe? marketing assessment!

Some basics to consider when developing your plan include:

• Keep it simple; don’t take on too much at once. Spread out your deadlines.

• Identify a mix of short-term, easily implemented goals and longer-term, harder-to-implement goals. Build in some quick “wins” for an immediate return on your investment.

• Prioritize but be flexible; be willing to change dates or put things on hold when other marketing priorities make sense (which means you don’t stop, you just shift).

• Identify the obstacles (people, time, money, lack of expertise, etc.) that could derail you and plan tasks for how to overcome them.

• Plan for how to make marketing a reward, not a punishment. Build in rewards for people who take time from billable hours to market.

Stay on track. At a minimum, guard one hour every week for a status check on your marketing plan – even if you’re a solo practitioner, that means making an appointment with yourself! The mere act of focused thinking or discussion about marketing every week will make an enormous difference in your ability to attract more clients.

Once you have a smart plan in place that’s realistic (see Get Organized, above), all you have to do is focus on taking one step at a time, then another, and another. Each small marketing task builds momentum and before you know it, you’ve implemented a major goal. The key is to keep moving…or if you stop, get restarted. It also helps to have “accountability” to an outside party, who keeps you on track through regular telephone and in-person coaching sessions.

The Defense Rests

So your practice has a stellar track record of client victories, you do good work that you care about, and you know your contribution makes a positive difference in the lives of your clients. What if you could reach more clients than you ever thought possible with all that you offer?

Apply the laws of marketing through an ordered plan of action that keeps you on track, and you will. Case closed.

References

1 Middleton, R. Laws of Marketing TeleClass. Action Plan Marketing, Inc. 2003.

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