Effective Communication for Managing Virtual Office Employees – Entrepreneur.com

If you are thinking about letting some of your team work from home, or adding some staff that will work remotely, this article in Entrepreneur.com may shed some light on your decision.

The author, David Javitch, presents a nice overview that rings true to me. I managed a team of 19 in NYC from Atlanta for over 3 years and learned many of these lessons the hard way!

Some questions to ask yourself might include:

• How are you with technology? (You don’t have to be a chip-head, but it will make a difference if you’re comfortable with instant messaging, web conferencing programs, and other newer communication tools.)
• What is the nature of your work? Your team’s work? (How available do you need to be to your staff? Do they work independently or is their work more team-dependent?)
• Are you a superior communicator? (Especially if you’re not onsite with your staff, it’s critical that YOU take initiative to keep them in the loop, and they need to be receptive.)

Millennials are having more fun with virtuality than the rest of us. Are YOU ready? Let us hear from you!

Don’t Skimp On Ad Budgets – Forbes.com:

So you read or heard the news the other day (and I use the term “news” loosely) – the US is in a recession and has been since December of ’07. I’m so glad there’s a group of academics poised to tell us such things!

More helpful is the advice from Knowledge@Wharton via Forbes.com: Now is not the time to slash your ad budget! This harkens back to what I’ve preached for some time (see my Oct 15 post) but it is very hard for most small business owners to buy into. It takes particular intestinal fortitude this season, but this is precisely when it has the potential to pay off the most while all your small-business-owner friends are paralyzed into thinking their marketing spend is the easiest place to cut!

Can you use the same ads you’ve been running for the past year? Possibly not. You may need to recast and reposition into something more aggressive, something unusual, that speaks to your market where it is now. Does that mean to reflect the general gloom being peddled by the media? Not at all! Take a swing at seeing the opportunity in the current situation! Check out this article for some strategies for your segment and type of product and service.

And get creative!

It’s tempting, to be sure. First, stop listening to the news hourly – it will only depress you and not offer any  information useful to your business. Unless you’re an investment banker or needing credit to stay afloat, the economic situation oughtn’t to affect your business directly. And Wall Street’s woes don’t mean that you suspend your business. On the contrary! Now is not the time to allow the marketplace to forget you. Stay on track with those ad campaigns and initiatives. You’ll be glad you did.

Making the Most of a Trade Show

One of the largest expenses you will find in any marketing budget is the line for trade shows. Often these are critical interludes to meet face-to-face with your customers and vendors. But do you prepare and plan to maximize the investment? Are you “too busy” to send invitations to their exhibit? Is your schedule “too full” upon returning to the office to follow up promptly? (And finally is it “too late,” so you never follow up at all – that’s an actual experience related by a client!)

Let’s see, what did it cost you to go to that last conference? Airfare, hotel, meals, taxis…if you go out of the country, then add in the sinking exchange rate. Now, multiply it by how many staff attended. Bottom line: it costs a LOT to attend these, much less to an exhibitor. That’s when you pay beaucoup bucks for AIR (with your booth space), and “get nickeled and dimed” for carpet, drapes, tables, wastebaskets, etc by the exhibit companies. (Do you ever want to protest, “I don’t want to BUY this chair, but just rent it for a couple of days!”)

Now. Go back and remind yourself just how busy you have to be to throw away this 5-figure investment.

This article has a simple checklist of key ways to make your time and investment pay off. Read it. Remember it. Do it.

The Best Advertising Slogans of All Time According to Digg Users | Fast Company: ”

Here is an entertaining review that will take you down memory lane. Which is your favorite?

Some business owners think that the only people who need Sales Training are their salespeople. Think again! Who does business development? YOU do! Are you tired of trying to reach decision-makers by phone? Did you know there are some simple tips to get people to return your voice mail messages? And open your emails?

Someone who has written the book – literally and figuratively – is Renee Walkup, Owner and Founder of SalesPeak. (Did you catch that? SalesPeak and SaleSpeak.) We strongly recommend her best-selling book based on her American Marketing Association course: . She also has a brand new book coming soon, “The Naked Salesperson: A Stripped Down Approach to Selling with Confidence“. These are eminently practical guides that help you see results immediately.