If You Didn’t Measure It – You Didn’t Do It! Part 1

If you’re going to spend money doing something, the only way to know if you accomplished your goal is to measure it. Here is a tool that works well to both define the problem and provide a yardstick against which to measure results.

The analysis breaks down into three main components:

• Need – What is the problem, and what is the result we expect from the money we are about to invest?
• Content – How will we move people to the desired result?
• Measurement – Did you actually meet, or better, exceed, the goals?

Need drives the entire process. You are not going to spend the money to do something that doesn’t need to be done. You have a situation or a problem – and it usually has a measurable cost – and you need to solve that problem, to eliminate, or at least significantly reduce that cost.

We may have to invest time or money to solve the problem, but if the problem is well defined and quantified, not only can we reduce or eliminate the problem with appropriately targeted communications; we can measure how well we did it. It could be increased sales, increased signups for a new program, or broader support within a community for a new service or idea. Whatever it is, it must have the necessary yardstick for success.

Let’s use an example to illustrate how this process functions and how well it can work.

Several years ago, a company was planning to introduce a new product into a saturated marketplace. The new product represented major innovations, and would likely have been very successful by itself, but the company needed to ensure that success and overcome several other issues. We’ll start the story of the launch in this article, and follow it through two more articles.

The NEED – The situation or problem:

• Moderate existing market share for existing product, #2 in sales
• Lack of respect for the company because of “me too” parity products in the past
• Low company sales force morale from carrying unexciting products
• Lack of personal contact by company executives with dealers across the country
• An exciting new product to launch, including many firsts, under a new brand umbrella, based on a new and very unfamiliar technology

The GOALS – what were the desired measurable results?

• Capture #1 sales position in the marketplace, as measured by published industry data
• Establish the new brand with dealers and consumers
• Build new levels of respect for the company brand and their sales force in the market place
• Dealer owners pleased with personal contact with company executives
• Retail clerks educated and excited about the new product, and motivated to sell the product and the company
• A memorable event to keep the company “top of mind” for the foreseeable future.

The Obstacles:

• Low respect for company in the market place – would dealers even listen?
• Large number of outlets and clerks to be informed/trained/motivated across the market, preferably in as short a time as possible
• The introduction would be in January/February, the worst time to travel a show around the country.

You can see how all of these elements defined the measurement criteria. Sales can be plotted against the launch. Market share is a standard industry published statistic, and can be plotted against the time of the launch. Respect will be reflected in the attitudes of the retail clerks to the sales representatives calling on the stores and the how the products and the company are received after the launch. This, and how well the event was remembered, would show up in weekly sales call reporting.

Observable, accurate, and actionable. The hallmarks of good metrics.

This is the first of Three Parts of this story.

Part 2 is here: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?id=899065

Part 3 is here: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?id=886852

Copyright 2008 Dan Davenport

Dan Davenport is an award-winning business communications producer: Multimedia, video, print.

Goal: Bring excitement to business communications.

Look to http://blog.smallofficecommunicator.net to blog with us about small office communication ideas and answers – share your own experience with others and get answers to your questions.

Turn $50 Thousand Dollars Into $1 Million by Investing in a Franchise

If you want to get rich quick and you have money to invest you can quickly turn $50 thousand dollars into $1 million dollars by purchasing a franchise for a known product. Face it; if the franchise is for the right product, all the bugs have been worked out. All you really have to do is rake in the profit on their hard work.

When you are buying into a franchise, you will be required to follow the rules already set by the business. All you need to do is to provide the business and the workers. If for instance you are purchasing a franchise for a slurpy ice shop the ingredients and the machinery is provided for you. You do not even have to choose the décor for the business because it has already been done for you. A franchise is simply a cookie cutter business; all of the different locations are exactly the same. And if you choose a popular business, you can easily turn $50 thousand dollars into $1 million dollars.

The great thing about this business is you really only have to be responsible for keeping the building up to the standard codes and for your workers. If you have a building that does not have any health violations and hardworking dependable workers the franchise chain provides everything else, even the advertising. So if you choose a good manager for your store, then all you have to do is basically sit back and rake in the money. How much easier could it be to turn $50 thousand dollars into $1 million dollars?

If you need money now, like I mean in the next hour, try what I did. I am making more money now than in my old business and you can too, read the amazing, true story, in the link below. When I joined I was skeptical for just ten seconds before I realized what this was. I was smiling from ear to ear and you will too.

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Loan Modification Marketing Series – Ad Campaign Tracking and Analytics

Tracking your marketing and advertising campaigns is incredibly crucial to their effectiveness. You need to track who and where every lead comes from, which leads ended up paying you and how much, how much money and time went into each marketing and advertising effort, which leads were better than others in non-monetary ways, how many referrals have come from each lead source and how frequently, and more.

Build a spreadsheet that organizes everything. Compare the return on investment (ROI) for each marketing effort. Analyze and compare which marketing efforts are the most successful and profitable. Focus your future dollars and energies on these. Cut anything that doesn’t seem to be providing high returns (though, don’t be too quick to cut out the leads groups and other long-term networking efforts).

With regard to your pay per click (PPC) ad word campaigns and search engine optimization (SEO), there are really cool applications, called analytics, that collect, organize, and measure more information than you ever dreamed possible. Do not run any ad word, banner, or other online marketing campaign without using an analytics program or service. If you’re tech-savvy, then give one of the free ones a go, such as Google Analytics. If not, then pay for a service to do this for you.

A good ad campaign with solid analytics (assuming you have a competitive company, sales person, product, service, and pricing, obviously) can literally have a monthly ROI % in the 1000s, and an exponential monthly growth factor. These are very powerful tools when used correctly. If you want dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of clients every month, then you seriously need to make web 2.0, ad words, SEO, a blog, and analytics a central part of your business model and marketing plan. These kinds of results are absolutely possible, but you need to do them right to have that kind of success.

To learn more about how to build a successful loan modification business and to access all the tools and forms you need to get started, please click here: http://StartALoanModBiz.com

About the Author
Matt Sparks is a successful entrepreneur, both offline and on. He is also a licensed mortgage broker, employing real estate broker, and Realtor. He has written books, articles, and blogs about small business, real estate, finance, New Urbanism, and sustainable cities.

(c) Copyright – Matthew R. Sparks. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Work From Home and Build Business Opportunities

Working at home has gained in popularity recently. There are many people that still have the “old school” views on working; work 40 hours a week earn your salary and after 20 years, retire. The pay is always the same no matter how hard you sell or how much time is spent working. Starting a business online is a no brainer; when one works smarter, not harder the money is practically poured into the bank account.

In order to get started, all that is needed to take advantage of the magnificent opportunities to make money online is a computer and a cable or DSL internet connection. There is no limit to the earning potential once those two items are in place. The first option to online money making is to set up a retail shop. When operating a retail shop, the highly guarded secret is to choose the most popular high valued items. However, if the need is to begin without a start-up fee, an affiliate program is a good basic start to make money without any stress.

Affiliate marketing is why you have loads of junk emails. Yes, once in a while you do look at the advertisements. Most of these affiliate programs have neither start-up costs nor investments. Just sign up for an affiliate program, select the products, and refer the products to consumers or refer them to a personal site housing many different affiliate products. Most of the programs test the referral skills, once passed a commission is earned; on a percentage basis.

If you like the affiliate program, but would like to be more of a network, there are sites that have built-in affiliate networks. This is nice also because this way one does not need to brows site to site looking for affiliate programs with a decent percentage rate. The site houses all of the programs and it is easy to find and choose. After choosing the products you wish to sell on your site, you begin to make money by referring people to your retail store. Having an online store is essential when working at home, thus giving you an identity online. By having an identity online provides a platform for the affiliate products to be marketed and sold. Leveraging a variety of referral systems provide more money making opportunities; such as article marketing, blogs, PPC campaigns, and banner adverts, just to name a few. Affiliate marketing relies on the numbers, the more referrals made, the more money is made and the better the online money making opportunity.

To Learn More about Matthew Gruenke Author and Top Internet Marketer go to http://www.infofrommatt.com and also to learn more about Home Businesses go to http://www.mymysterywealth.com

Custom Bathroom Vanities – Adding Beauty & Value to Your Home

Custom bathroom vanities are a great way to add value to your house or the house you are remodeling. These are not vanities that you will find in your neighbors homes nor will you find them at your local home improvement superstore. It used to be that custom vanities were exactly that… custom made for each situation. They were designed specifically for you and according to the requirements you set forth. With more and more products being made in China, they have even started importing Decorative or Custom Bathroom Cabinets that come completely assembled, with the vanity top, sink bowl, hardware, and matching mirror(s).

So Why Should you Consider a Custom Bathroom Vanity?

The are many reasons why they could be right for your project, but most importantly would be resale value. Buyers like the idea of getting a great bargain for their money and are often eager to buy a home that has custom cabinetry in the kitchen or bath that is unique to that house. With all of the mass produced neighborhoods popping up, homeowners are looking for ways to differentiate their homes from those of their neighbors. Because of this, it is very rare that you won’t recoup your investment when you go to sell your house.

There are many things that make custom cabinetry and vanities appealing to many different people but one of the most easy to identify is the quality of not only the workmanship involved but also the craftsmanship. It shows when you have custom cabinets and buyers will recognize that ‘pride of ownership’ and experience less apprehension when buying from you, particularly if you’ve taken great care of your woodwork. With higher quality materials, and more attention to detail, I decorative bathroom vanity will hold up much longer to the wear and tear of your family.

The best reason for making the investment in a custom bathroom vanity is for your personal enjoyment. The bathroom is where we usually start and end our day. With more and more people trying to turn their bathroom into a spa environment, it only makes sense to carry that feeling over to the vanity that you install.

A custom made vanity is not only about appearance but should also meet your requirements for functionality. Everything seems to work better when it has its own place and is put back into that place. A good custom vanity will have a spot for all your morning bathroom routine needs.

Where can you find a decorative bathroom furniture vanity?

Even with the increase in popularity, custom pieces are still hard to find. Since they are not mass produced, you won’t find custom vanities gracing the aisles of your local home improvement stores. As I mentioned before, you can find some manufacturers and importers online by searching for decorative bathroom vanities or custom bathroom vanities, but even the search engines have a hard time finding all of the companies that are available because of the lack of traffic they generate. Searching for local carpenters is another way to go, but be prepared to pay a lot for your custom project and be ready for a long lead time.

Most of us have a good idea of what we like when it comes to design features and looks but have very little knowledge of the actual physics involved in getting the look and functionality we desire. Searching on-line is a great way to find samples or pictures of what bathroom vanity you would like to have for your bathroom. It will also give you an idea of what styles each manufacturer or carpenter specialize in.

A custom bathroom vanity or a piece of decorative bathroom furniture can not only add value to your home, but also create a unique focal point for your oasis. By having a good idea of what you are looking for, doing some research on-line, and narrowing down the manufacturers and carpenters that specialize in what you are looking for, you will be able to build the custom bathroom of your dreams.

I have been remodeling houses for over 15 years, and I have found a way to save hundreds on each bathroom that I remodel. If you are looking for a High End Bathroom Vanity , Euro Vanity, or RTA Bathroom Vanity check out one of these links to find out my secret.

The Basics of Tire Rotation

Most drivers neglect to rotate their vehicle’s tires. They know instinctively that treads wear down over time. They also realize that worn treads reduce fuel efficiency and can eventually present a safety risk. Despite knowing these things, millions of motorists only consider rotating at the behest of their mechanic. If you have some time on your hands and you’re handy with a torque wrench, you can actually do the job yourself. It’s relatively easy. Below, you’ll learn why rotating your tires is important, as well as the right and wrong ways to do it.

Why Rotation Is Necessary

Let’s quickly review. Treads wear down, but it may surprise you to know that those in the front wear more quickly than those in the rear. That’s especially true for front- wheel drive vehicles. The reason this happens is due to friction between the rubber and the pavement. Whenever you drive your car, the friction generates heat, which causes the treads to wear down. As a result, they become less responsive, create more resistance (which affects fuel efficiency), and need to be replaced more often.

When you rotate your tires, it relieves the pressure created by friction on those placed on the front axle. Remember, those in the front wear down more quickly than those in the rear. Swapping them lets you prolong the useful life of your tires as long as possible.

The Right (And Wrong) Way To Rotate

As noted above, you can perform the rotation yourself with a torque wrench, but it’s important to know how to rotate them properly. The rule of thumb for most makes and models is to swap front and rear tires without changing sides. That is, the passenger rear goes on the passenger front, not the driver’s front.

A lot of people make the mistake of rotating their tires in an “X” pattern. For example, they’ll swap the driver’s rear and passenger front, and passenger’s rear and driver’s front. They do this thinking that they’re spreading the tread wear more evenly. In fact, they’re probably doing more harm than good because treads wear down based upon the vehicle’s suspension system and alignment.

Getting Your Hands Dirty

Even though rotating your wheels is a relatively simple job, consider having a mechanic do it for you. Given that you only need to have it done approximately every 10,000 miles (check your owner’s manual to make sure), it’s a low-maintenance task that’s inexpensive and doesn’t take much time. If you’re absolutely invested in doing it yourself, buy a sturdy jack (a hydraulic model, if possible). It’s dirty work and there’s some heavy lifting involved. But, you’ll save a few dollars and have the pleasure of knowing you fixed it yourself. Personally, I prefer having my mechanic do the job.

When looking for used auto parts and used engines consider the leader in parts, http://www.everdrive.com

Top 10 Training Metrics

Is it time for you to measure the effectiveness of your training programs? If you’re not sure where to start, these Top Ten Training Metrics can help.

Measuring the effectiveness of training is a very difficult task, for stakeholders, training departments and end users. If you are a training manager or company stakeholder looking for ways to measure the effectiveness of your programs, these ten metrics are a great place to start.

One: Increased retention. Most Human Resources departments measure the rate of retention in all or various jobs. Many times, the front line, high turnover jobs are the ones that receive the most attention. If newly trained employees feel ill-equipped for the job, they are more likely to leave within their first 90 days. When you measure training success this way, higher retention points to a successful training program.

Two: Increased sales. Many organizations can track efficiency based on sales. If training is heavily geared toward a sales or customer service force, an effective program will eventually increase sales numbers. You can also measure product knowledge training as part of a sales number – poorly educated sales people usually do not make the sale. Dollar figures and unit sales make good metrics, but be sure to balance any metric with other factors that can influence sales numbers.

Three: Increased operational efficiency. In highly regulated or production-oriented businesses, managers look for more efficiency, which raises the bottom line. If your training programs teach skills, look to management’s efficiency metrics, as a baseline, before and after the training intervention. If you are building a new program or product, look at the efficiency numbers to obtain direction on training course content.

Four: Customer service results. Any organization can link training to customer service, which can be both internal and external. Customer service is also one of the easier place to start: one well-written survey can identify a host of customer related issues that can be addressed by training programs. Remember that training may not be the only solution to those issues. If your organization already has a customer survey in place, use those metrics to cross check your programs. When your programs impact the survey items, you can correlate an increase in customer satisfaction back to training.

Five: Company-defined scorecards. Training outsourcers tend to use client-defined criteria to determine training effectiveness. If your organization has a wide variety of possible measurements, sit down with management, and stakeholders, to create a custom scorecard based on expectations and the training programs that need to be in place.

Six: Cost of training. This is an internal training department measurement. In high turnover organizations, lowering cost per student can be used as an effectiveness measurement. Cost of training could also relate directly back to retention – if you’re spending less on new hire training, your retention may be higher. Work with your stakeholders and the HR department to determine training costs and where you want those numbers to be.

Seven: Return on Investment. ROI has long been a “catch all” metric. In some cases, it’s easy to define ROI, but in more cases it’s increasingly difficult. If you deliver soft skills training, it’s hard to put a dollar figure on the return. There are numerous ROI calculations available, so if you’re thinking about using an ROI metric, look for the formulas and plug in what you can. If you are part of a numbers-driven organization, you’ll be able to make friends with the stakeholders by defining and measuring concrete ROI.

Eight: Revenue generation. This metric appears most likely as a combination of sales numbers, operational efficiency, and customer service. If an organization shows increased revenue, a solid training program can be part of that increase. If your organization is rolling out a new revenue generator, such as a product or service, that is generally the best time to use revenue generation as training metric.

Nine: Instructor performance. Instructor evaluation is an important internal measurement. The results can come from student and manager evaluations, and must take into account the instructor’s presentation skills, knowledge of the subject, projection of organizational values, and adherence to instructional guidelines. The good part about instructor performance as a metric is that it can also be used as an external measure. When training is under discussion, training managers should be the first to praise their instructors for delivering quality instruction in every course – and instructor evaluations provide the supporting evidence.

Ten: End-user satisfaction. Your audience can measure effectiveness quicker than anyone else, both immediately following training and after a given time period, such as 30 or 60 days. The immediate results, sometimes referred to as “smile sheets”, can give you a picture of what happened in the classroom. The delayed results can tell you if the material is useful or not. Plus, end-user surveys are great tools for proving effectiveness with management.

Remember that training metrics may take time to put into place and show results. It’s also important to obtain buy-in from your stakeholders while you’re determining how to measure results. Use these metrics to start with – and use them whenever you’re developing or revamping training programs. Once you can prove bottom-line effectiveness, your credibility will go a long way.

Copyright 2008 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved.

Bryant Nielson – Managing Director and National Sales Trainer – assists executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Bryant is a trainer, business & leadership coach, and strategic planner for sales organizations.Bryant’s 27 year business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering.

Subscribe to his monthly ezine – Lengthen Your Stride! ™ – and learn the legendary secrets of top business achievers at: http://www.BryantNielson.com

How to Avoid a Costly Mistake When Choosing a Lawn Maintenance Company

Your home is one of the biggest investments you will ever have and the lawn is part of that investment, you need to take care of it as well as you care for the structure. When you choose a lawn care company, make sure to choose wisely or you may end up with a brown yard and a colony of bugs living near the patio. You need a professional lawn care service and the only way to get one is to ask questions, get references and ask around to your friends and neighbors about their lawns and whom they trust.

You need to know what lawn services you need or want from a lawn care company. Do you want them to mow and trim or do you want them to trim the hedges every so often as well? What about seasonal pest control and fertilizing and aeration and thatching? These are all things you must ask yourself if your lawn will need and when.

What are the lawn care company’s prices? Comparing prices is a big part of making the decision for which company to choose for your lawn care needs. If you are expecting the most thorough, professional service in town-don’t hire the cheapest company available. No one ever bought a new Mercedes for the cost of a Ford.

Also, no reputable company is going to give you an estimate over the phone. They are going to come out and walk around your property to give you a fair price for the work that needs to be done. Ask for prices for seasonal work as well, if there is a discount for signing up to work with them for an entire year verses one or two seasons, such as spring and summer.

A reputable company will offer you before and after photographs of their work. This is one of the best sources of proof you can have. In addition, ask if they have written or published any articles, special reports or books. A published author carries more creditability than a no-name company leaving flyers on the door

The company you choose should also be licensed and insured and don’t be shy about asking for proof. If something happens while they are working on your property, you want to make sure they are responsible for whatever it is that happens.

A few other questions to ask would be about chemical treatments, do they use safe chemical treatments? Are they licensed to spray your yard? Do they give you advanced notice of chemical treatments so you can prepare by keeping pets and children inside. If they use chemical treatments, do they post small yard signs warning people to stay off the grass for a period of time so the chemical can do its job?

You will have to agree on what maintenance you will be doing and what they will be doing, such as sweeping or blowing the sidewalks or the mowing or trimming near the landscaping. Have a written estimate prepared with every detail spelled out so there are no miscommunications.

Steve Habib is a well-known lawn care expert and the author of 5 Costly Mistakes Homeowners Make When Choosing a Landscape Maintenance company…And How To avoid them. Head on over to: http://www.stpetersburglawnlandscape.com for your FREE copy.

Essential Tips For Hiring a Consultant

Some time ago we talked about the circumstances under which hiring a consultant can add value to a business. If you’ve already established the need to recruit one, pay attention to a few issues before you plunge headlong into a contract. Here’s a quick checklist.

Assess in-house expertise. First of all, make sure that you’re not hiring a consultant to teach you things you already know! The best way to do so is to include your senior managers in the decision, and ask them about the existing pockets of expertise in their respective functions. At the end of it all, you might find that you have a smaller or even no need for an outside expert! Better now, than later.

Investigate credentials. There are consultants, and there are consultants. Each of them will have their strengths and weaknesses. Do a thorough background check on the consultant you plan to hire, in terms of capability, commitment and compatibility. Talk to the consultant’s other clients about their experience, if possible.

Pay attention to the contract. Hiring a consultant is serious and expensive business, and is more likely than not to leave a lasting impact on your company. Hence, you can’t seal a consulting assignment on a mere smile and handshake. Draw up a proper contract, which comprehensively covers all important points relating to the scope of the assignment, costs and fee associated with the engagement, and, of course, key deliverables. Have it looked at by someone who understands legalese.

Sign a confidentiality agreement. A consultant will be privy to a lot of internal data – make sure your interests are protected by getting him or her to sign an agreement of confidentiality. You can find guidelines on drafting one in our earlier story on the subject, or better still. If the project is of critical importance, you may like to include a clause that prohibits the consultant to work with a competitor for a certain period after the completion of your assignment.

Shop around. Price is always an issue, and when it comes to the expensive business of hiring a consultant, even more so. An established consultant may just charge for his or her reputation, make sure you find out what the going rate is. Often, you can agree to a basic fee, topped up by a generous bonus in proportion to the end result.

Describe your requirements. The very purpose of hiring a consultant is defeated if there is no clarity on expected results. It is in your interest to ensure that the boundaries of the engagement are made crystal clear – that includes deliverables, timelines and cost considerations.

Involve your team. This is the most important commandment for a company hiring a consultant. No one likes having an outsider telling them how to do their job, your staff included. Share with them the reason for taking on an expert, and what benefits you expect by doing so. Impress upon them the need to support the project, and its impact on the goals of the organization. Once they get used to the idea, it won’t seem like such a bitter pill to swallow. From your perspective, you need to ensure ground level support, without which you can kiss any chances of successful implementation goodbye!

Hi, I’m Akhil Shahani, a serial entrepreneur who wants to help you succeed. If you like to work smart, check out http://www.SmartEntrepreneur.net . It’s full of articles and resources to help you start and grow your business successfully. Please visit us & download our special “Freebie of The Month” at http://www.smartentrepreneur.net/freebie-of-the-month.html

Promotional Keyrings Are Great Customer Enticer

For the success of any business, it is important to reach out to the target consumers and entice or attract them towards the business. You need to inform them about the product so that they can get to know about its existence. There are various methods and ways that may be employed for this. The most effective and expensive method that is employed for this is advertisement. The big companies and industries make use of television or print advertisement that informs the consumer about the products and attract them towards their brand.

Since these methods can not be used by everyone, there are simpler economical methods also that may be used for this purpose. Many companies are making use of gifts as marketing tools that can help them to promote their brand and inform the potential consumers about them. These gifts are given or distributed to the potential consumers. Free gift are something that attract everyone. Similarly these items also act as customer enticer and helps in catching the consumer’s attention. One of the most popular items that are used for this is promotional keyrings. There are different types with light and numerous other such products that can be used for reaching out to the consumers.

There are a number of them that may be used for this purpose. There are inexpensive plastic, attractive leather, stylish metal and a number of other types that may be used as free gifts for attracting the consumers. They can have the brand name printed or engraved on them. They would remind the consumers of the product whenever they would use or see the keyrings. Other people may also come across them and get to know about the company or about the products through them.

The promotional keyrings are quite beneficial as they require minimum investment and are very effective. In other words they give good returns on investment. They can be gifted to your clients and customers for promoting your brand and for impressing them. It makes the brand appear more professional and dedicated which is good for the company’s image.

For the best quality items, visit online stores The website provides a number of products that can be used for promoting your brand. These products are available at a very nominal cost and are easily affordable. There are different types of promotional keyrings that can be used for promoting one’s brand. Visit the website to view them online. If you need further assistance then the website’s online executives can be contacted for the same.

Tina Rinaudo is one of the leading lights in the UK promotional keyrings industry. Tina is a key member of YesGifts, the UK’s fastest growing online promotional keyrings resource specialising in promotional pens, mugs, mouse mats, umbrellas, conference items and much more. For more information please visit YesGifts.