Preparation Prevents Rip-Off!

Matt Anderson at The Referral Authority talks about the likeability factor in his June newsletter. The L-factor is all about relationships and how they shape your business. In Matt’s words, if you don’t like the results you’re getting, change your actions with regard to the L-factor.

Specific examples illustrate Matt’s recommendations. I like that about his high content materials. Matt walks the walk, something that many fail to do. Because the L-factor can overwhelm reality, I suggest that your firm do preparation prior to hiring a consultant or awarding a project.

In fact, after one client’s recent bad experience, I am developing a list of questions that small business owners can use prior to engaging an expert for their firm. Here’s what I’ve got so far. Feel free to add your own.

Checklist:

• Have I talked with more than one person?
• Do I have references?
• Have I checked references?
• Has the consultant written anything on a similar problem or topic? Reading their materials will give you an idea of how they approach problems.
• How does this consultant define responsiveness? Will I hear from them within the same day? Do I have a guaranteed response time?
• If this is a firm, not a solo practitioner, who will service my account?
• If this is a solo practitioner, do they have the time to devote to my firm?
• How do we clearly define the scope of work?
• Have I requested and received a letter of confidentiality?
• What kind of paper trail will this consultant provide?
• What are the terms of payment?
• What detail can I expect with follow-up?
• What is the successful outcome from this alliance?
• What is the next step?

Post your questions and encourage your clients to hold you accountable; it's a quick way to separate the outstanding from the "also ran."

Sticking your neck in the sand?

Making sense of the world around us can mean pausing to reflect on recent events and how they fit into the reality of business. It happened to me yesterday. A business owner protested, "I just can't deal with computers," when I offered to email information to them. That's an enviable position on days when technology glitches make life challenging. It's not real, however.

Online mediums continue to gain in importance when compared with traditional media including publishing. BusinessWeek moved top editor John Byrne from print to online media recently. Byrne's responsibilities include oversight of BusinessWeek.com, one of the leading news sites. BusinessWeek.com users increased by 22% in the past year. Unique users per month now average more than 6.7 million.

Given that kind of growth, can a small business owner really ignore the internet?

At the May Editor/Publisher Interactive Conference in Miami the focus was on using video to beef up online viewers. Byrne spoke to participants, discussing the potential new venture of a BusinessWeek YouTube. While he was referring to a service that would link business ideas with venture capital, the implications are clear: cross-platforms for publishers.

Given the convergence of media, does sticking your neck in the sand make any sense at all?

Welcome to the new ProfitMeister blog!

Hi and welcome to a new ProfitMeister blog, that looks at business from the standpoint of profit, not just the “cash in the till” profit, but the profit gained from reflecting on the meat of the lessons learned. It’s become a habit with me, one developed early in life. During those times when I hit pause, I know that my experiences are simply a microcosm for all business. I stretch, recommit, review, and then do it again.

My mission for this blog is to look at our five critical points of communication – stakeholders, customers, employees, media and general public – and the stories and shared experiences that come out of each. As such, my blog becomes the story of relationships (only a contract has facts) and in the process business and life balance out for profit!