Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Expanding?!

It’s time to blog about Homeland Security. Yes, it is ‘Watch Your Back Wednesday’ already! Today I want to talk about a meeting that happened earlier at The White House. Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus met, with lawyers present, regarding the issue of deportation. Regarding this subject, many of you will recall the blog I posted last Wednesday stressing the need for more resources and more action. Well, today we go more action.

Today’s meeting was to discuss revamping policy on how to deport someone and if we, as a country, should deport someone truly here illegally without a conviction. The meeting also addressed the issue of criminal activity and illegal immigrants.

The recommendations included suspending or even doing away with the deportations of the estimated 8 million undocumented immigrants who would quality for legal status under the bipartisan bill passed by the Senate last year but stalled in the House.

So, what is next? Well, this was just a meeting. There is nothing set in stone now. With Congress, getting anything accomplished right now is nearly impossible. I’m hopeful the meeting today does create a favorable outcome for those seeking to make a better life for themselves while we are still able to protect of freedoms.

Until tomorrow,

Twyla N. Garrett

Color and Your Website

People tend to use blues, black and shades of red when designing corporate-based websites. While this may be a nice way to design a website, research shows the use of color is changing when it comes to ROI.

In a peer reviewed journal article, Satyendra Singh determined that it takes a mere 90 seconds for a customer to form an opinion about a product. And, 62-90% of that interaction is determined by the color of the product alone. So, boring and corporate based websites that all look alike will not stand out!

This doesn’t mean you go out and start throwing wild colors on your website. There has to be a right way, the right time, and color catered to the right audience. Yellow is associated as a kids’ color. Unless you sell services or products aimed at kids and their parents, yellow would be a wrong choice of color. Orange is associated with discounting products and services. Does this fit your demographic. There is something to be said about the color of psychology. So, it isn’t just about using color but what colors you use and how you use it!

Targeting women? In a survey on color and gender via Inc.com, 35% of women said blue was their favorite color, followed by purple (23%) and green (14%). 33% of women confessed that orange was their least favorite color, followed by brown (33%) and gray (17%).

My suggestion if you are getting ready to spring clean your website, consider color use. Do a web search on the phrase ‘psychology of color’ and really think about who your website sells to and what colors you should incorporate. For some companies the use of color is a bad thing, even with the popularity of color and social media being high. Risk management companies shouldn’t ever use color. It defeats their purpose.

Still have questions? Connect with me on Twitter!

Twyla N. Garrett

3 Steps to Winning Proposals

If you are like me, you as a business owner are constantly writing proposals. Some of rejected, some are won. This is the nature of the game. However, if your overall numbers of wins isn’t always increasing then you should address how you are writing proposal. Below are my top three tips to winning business proposals through great writing.

1. Read before you write. This is a critical step and it is also often overlooked. If you don’t read the RFP line by line then you are missing opportunities. Most RFPs will clearly define what is needed and guide you through what to tailor within the proposal.

2. Don’t talk bad about your competition. Instead, show how you are different and better. This is a great way to define your value without being negative.

3. Make sure you talk qualifications versus price. If you are underpriced because of a lack of experience, state this. If you are overpriced because of experience, state this. Don’t leave the person reviewing your proposal guess as to how you came up with a figure.

Writing business proposals is hard but not impossible. The more you practice, the more chances of winning you have!

Until next time,

Twyla N. Garrett

The Save Time Cure

Someone recently asked me how they can cure themselves of being stretched too thin. Easy! Stop multi-tasking. There isn’t a single shred of evidence that shows this is productive. In fact, multi-tasking is based on the sole concept of spreading yourself thin over a variety of tasks. Why do this to yourself? You will only become frustrated when you are producing a bunch of mediocre products / services!

The key to curing yourself of over extensions is to realistically schedule time for certain products and then refrain from checking your phone or answering the phone when you are working on them.

As you head into the weekend try to stop overcommitting or multi-tasking. I promise you will find the quality of your work goes up.

Until Monday,

Twyla Garrett

Your Body Is A Champion – At Least It Should Communicate This!

There is a lot to be said for body language. We are constantly judging people by their appearances and how they act. Don’t be fooled into thinking this doesn’t occur, it does! Now is a great time to decide how your body behaves on purpose to communicate the message of a champion to others.

Start by evaluating if you act confident or defensive in any and all situations. It seems simple but we often fail to check this within ourselves. If you are speaking at a coffee shop, giving an order or talking with passers by, chances are you aren’t standing with your arms crossed. Chances are you are also not standing in an engaging position. Change this about yourself.

Each day you should make a conscious decision to act confident, even in casual situations. Stand with your arms to your side , excellent posture and smile when you speak. Don’t say ‘hi’ to strangers, engage them. Reach out your hand, shake theirs, introduce yourself by name and ask for theirs. Be bold. Even if you are not that confident, these tricks will work.

Communication is everything. Remember this on your road to success.

Twyla N. Garrett

68,000 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions released in 2013!

An internal Department of Homeland Security document compiling statistics on arrests and deportations in 2013 showed that ICE agents encountered 193,357 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions but issued charging documents for only 125,478. More than 67,800 were released.

The data came from an end-of-year “Weekly Departures and Detention Report.”

What does this specific data have to do with Homeland Security or my blog today? A lot! The Center for Immigration Studies reports that ICE officials moved to deport 28 percent fewer illegal immigrants from the interior of the country in 2013 than in 2012. The issue at hand is security, but more so this issue has to do with family. The issue is too complex for resolve to arise in my blog. However, it is important enough not to ignore. If these illegal immigrants didn’t host this status, they would be released back to their families here in America with no notice. The fact is overcrowding in the prison system is the root of this problem. And then there are issues of addiction, covered by many insurance companies as a medical condition, that leads to arrest.

When an illegal immigrant is arrested because of addiction and he or she has young children here- what do we do? Deportation requires resources and most of the time it isn’t effective. Does their status truly remove the human element or make them less worthy then the thousands of Americans arrested each and every year and also released because we have an overcrowding problem here at home?

Senator Jeff Sessions recently told the media “DHS is a department in crisis!” And related to this issue, it may be. We can’t burn the candle at both ends. We can’t have the TSA treat our own citizens as criminals coming in and out of the country because of a potential security risk or the Lone Wolf element when we let thousands of illegal immigrants, who can pose a security risk, go Scott fee. However, punishing those arrested because of addiction and who have families establishing themselves in this country isn’t fair, either. What do we do?

In my opinion, we need a case-by-case assessment of each situation. This is going to require resources, time and patience, something our country is already low on. What I do know is how the DHS is handling this subject matter isn’t working. Neither side is happy, tons of money is being wasted and we don’t have the resources to keep up this facade.

Until tomorrow,

Twyla Garrett

Customer Retention 101

I want to use today’s blog to talk about customer retention. What happens when customers look somewhere else? Are you trying to keep your customers or are you more interested in the next big contract?

Customer retention is important. In fact, it is vital to your business regardless if you sell products or services.

To employ true customer retention practices, you first need to empower your employees. Don’t make them get the manager in order to fix simple problems. If an employee encounters a problem first then he or she should be able to start immediately rectifying the situation. Saying “ I can’t do that” or “I have to get my manager” adds fuel to the fire. Teach employees to take ownership of negative situations and let them know how much gratis or corrective tools they have.

You also need to measure retention and not satisfaction quarterly. No, these are not the same thing. Think about it. I’ve gone to McDonald’s on three occasions during my life where orders were messed up, the food wasn’t good, etc. I can’t tell you the number of occasions I’ve gone to McDonald’s and had a great experience. The company isn’t interested in my satisfaction , they are interested in my retention. I don’t let small mistakes ruin the brand for me. This scenario should be your goal when it comes to retention, not satisfaction.

Have more questions? Connect with me on Twitter via the links.

Until next time,
Twyla Garrett