Signs You're A Terrible Boss

Do you think you're pleasant to work for? Do you often inspire your employees to do better and grow with the company? While we all might say 'yes', this can't be true 100% of the time. That's why I am posting how to tell if you're a terrible boss. OK, here we go.

Do you promise things that never materialize? If so, you're a terrible boss. What a great way to keep people from wanting to work for you. This happens over and over again in business. "You'll all get bonuses if we meet this month's sales quota." Once the quota is met, no sales bonus and a really bad reason why. If this sounds familiar, it's time to start rethinking your motivation for making empty promises.

No follow up. Nothing irks me more than a leader who sets up goals for the company and the employees engage and each the goals. Why does this irk me? Well, it irks me when the leader doesn't lead by example. No follow up, shows he or she doesn't take the goal(s) serious, etc. If you're too busy to follow up or meet a goal, don't ask your employees to do the same thing. Lead by example.

Well, it's that time. Thanksgiving is in a few days. I will not be blogging again until next Monday. Stay safe, stay warm, stay grateful!

Twyla

2 Ways to Kill Your Business This Holiday Season

It's time to start winding down. It's the holiday season. WRONG! Most people believe because there are many holiday celebrations between now and January 1st of 2014 that this is an excuse to call in your workload and do nada. Well, this belief can kill your business. This got me to thinking of the top two business killers.

1. Thinking the customer is always right.

This will kill your margins. Reducing costs, giving away freebies, comping things.... all of these practices will put you out of business. The customer isn't always right. While you want to try and smooth things over with an annoyed client, you don't want to destroy your business in the duration. Think about how to resolve a problem with value added services, not discounts or freebies.

2. Toxic employees.

This should seem obvious but toxic employees can cost you customers and turn off great employees. Bad HR practices will hurt your company. Even poorly behaved contractors can ruin your company. Avoid this problem all together by looking beyond experience and more at attitude. Remember, external customer service starts with internal customer service.

Don't let these two things ruin your company or potential growth. Know that the customer isn't always right and that your employees' bad behavior will hurt your profit margin.

Twyla

3 Ways to Keep Customers Wanting More!

I talk a lot about customer engagement on this blog. I was asked a great question recently. "How do you keep customers coming back?" It's a good questions because once you offer a product or service, how will you engage that customer to buy more? Well, here is what works for me.

1. Get personal. Stage 5 clinger personal. Follow your customers online. Interact with them. Make follow up phone calls. Always be in a state of reminding them you're around and that you care.

2. Be consistent. Don't do right by your clients some of the time. People love paying $5.00 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks not because it is the best coffee in the world (in fact, it's been proven otherwise), but because the staff makes it their business to be personal and to be consistent.

3. Reward people. Who doesn't love getting rewards. Again, think Starbucks. They have a Gold card system that is awesome. Buy 12 drinks and get anything on the menu for free. There is no minimum, either. If you buy twelve cups of regular coffee, your free drink can still be a Venti Frap or you can get a chicken salad sandwich- whatever you want. So, think of a way to reward your customers that actually presents value and not percentage discounts.

Next week I will only be posting a blog on Monday and Tuesday. I'm taking a break from blogging the rest of the week for the holiday.

Happy Friday and I'll post more on Monday,

Twyla

The Secret to Getting Your Customer's Attention!

Here's a challenge, a client pays you and then doesn't respond or is too busy to provide additional information. Or, worse, the client is too involved and telling you how to do your job. How do you deal with these situations? By getting your customer's attention.

Your customers hired you for a reason. Now, you just have to get them to listen to you. Not tell you what to do, not be unresponsive- but actually listen. Start by eliminating a lot of jargon. Be direct and simple. Instead of using big, fancy works every two seconds, just say what you need from the client (or what you're doing) in a sentence or two. Long emails will lose your clients. Even if you have to send a bullet list with a "let's meet" note at the bottom, do it. Don't ever send too much information or overused copy at once.

Explain things as if you're talking to a five year old. I know this sounds condescending, but if you use the right technique, your clients will appreciate it! Clients don't need to know how your office works, just that projects are being worked on or your products work. Again, simplicity is key.

Finally, if you have a difficult client over the period of a year, fire the client. You don't need to spend a lot of time on a client who needs extra hand holding or who is unresponsive. Instead, put your energy into finding a better client who is easier to work with.

Until next time,

Twyla

Homeland Security ; The Mall!

Every Black Friday we come across one or two tragic stories. This happens each and every year. Is it a surprise masses will gather, and push there way forward, for great deals on electronics? No. So, why are we constantly watching people get trampled at Walmart on the news? Well, frankly, the answer is a lack of serious planning and procedures.

This actually is a homeland security issue, too. You have mass crowds in a confined space with almost no real security to prevent an issue. Beyond the tragic acts of people getting trampled on Black Friday, terrorists are presented with an opportunity of lots of people combined with poorly trained, seasonal security. We can do better than this. We owe it to one another to do better than this. Spending the extra money to have a company like mine (any company really) come in and identify potential issues before they happen is worth its weight in gold, and human life!

Right now is the time for malls and major department stores to be conducting lock-down drills and testing their security cameras. "Each of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's 56 field offices is meeting with local police and security personnel at area malls and shopping centers this month", said FBI spokesman Paul Bresson. But, mall operators and retailers have to be proactive about security year around and especially two Fridays from now.

I did some research and found a website with really great consumer advice for staying safe on Black Friday. Here's the link: http://www.moneycrashers.com/black-friday-tips-for-safe-shopping/ In the meantime, retailers are welcomed to connected with me at HireIme.com for further info.

Stay safe out there,

Twyla Garrett

Two Types of Entrepreneurs

There are many thoughts on the "types" of entrepreneurs walking around the business world. Some people say there are five types, other say there are four, and some people believe we are all cut from one rigid, opportunist cloth! Well, I believe there are only two types of entrepreneurs in the world.

The "I Can, I will":

This type of entrepreneur is goal-orientated and goes into every business investment or bootstrap concept with very clear goals and expectations. This is the type of person who likes to collect, review and rereview data before, during and after specific business milestones.

The "Let's Go Get Them":

While data is important to this type of entrepreneur, it isn't going to make or break her dream of starting or investing in the right company. This person relies more on innovation and the promotion of the business then data that may predict failures or success. They are more street smart than book smart. They have a vision and they will do anything to make it happen, regardless of what any data sheet says.

There isn't a right or wrong type. In fact, the world is infused with both types, making "I can, I will" and "Let's Go Get Them" entrepreneurs resilient and also reliant on one another!

What type of entrepreneur do you think you are and why? Let this be your thought of the day.

Twyla Garrett

5 Questions to Ask When Measuring Social Media ROI

You blog; You Tweet; You use every social media outlet out there.... you don't see more customers coming through the door. You're frustrated.

Don't worry. Social media ROI takes a while. You need at least a year or two to start seeing real traction. I know social media is updated every second, but the ROI isn't. In fact, when was the last time you purchased something because of a Tweet? Or you read a person's entire blog based off of a Facebook post? Exactly. Unlike popular belief, it takes a long time to build a substantial and attentive social media following where simply reading the post makes a person actually click through and engage with their wallet.

So, when measuring your social media efforts over a long period of time make sure you ask yourself these five questions;

1. What are my goals?

2. Are my goals reasonable to who I am and what my brand is?

3. How much content can I put online each and every day?

4. How will I measure offer-based content vs. non offer-based content?

5. How do I turn my views into email address subscriptions?

If you have an answer for all give of these questions, you can then measure your social media growth based on your answers. Yes, it is this simple. Using the answers to gauge growth, along with Google analytics , truly helps you see how many people are engaged and buying after a year, two years, or longer!

Until next time,

Twyla Garrett