Valley Business Source

VALLEY

BUSINESS SOURCE WINTER/SPRING 2016

Are you Making a Living... or Designing a Life?

Get Social!

Do you hear “social media” and the big “thumbs-up” of Facebook comes to mind?

Taxes Can Be A Real Drag Going Up?

Is your elevator pitch taking you to the penthouse or basement?

Developing your Vision, Mission, and Values All the resources you need to run and grow your business.

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Taxes CanBlue Be general A Real Drag 5 Blue + + general grey grey for all for all Taking A Trade Route 6 58595B 58595B Increasing Cash Flow 8 Blue + general grey 58595B

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IT, WEB DESIGN & SOCIAL MEDIA Get Social! 9 Ransomware: What 10 Accent colors Is It? How DoBlue You Respond?

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58595B NETWORKING, BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Accent Accent colors colors

“I’m So Excited!” Generating REAL Excitement for Your Business 12 Accent colors Top 10 Tips for Choosing a Caterer & Planning Your Meal 13 Membership Has Its Rewards 15 The Art of the Follow-Up 16

OPERATIONS & BUSINESS PRACTICES Accent colors Accent colors

Practical Design 17 Deveopling Your Vision, Mission, And Values 18 Accent colors Are You the Collective Type?

19 A Window of Opportunity: Transitioning to Chip Payment Technology 20 Blue + general grey for all How 22 58595B to Get Things Done AND Have a Life

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58595BYou Making a Living... or Designing a Life 23 Are Maintaining Is a Thing of The Past 24 Going Up? Is Your Elevator Pitch Taking You to the Penthouse or Basement?

25 “Let Me Think About It” 26 Going Local 27

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Editor’s Letter 9 Resource Guide 28 Business Calendar 30 Accent colors

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CONTENTS:

VALLEY

BUSINESS SOURCE

EDITOR’S LETTER:

Winter/Spring 2016 Volume 1 Edition 1 Editor Susan Voiers Art Director Stacie Felice Advertising Design Stacie Felice Susan Voiers Contributing Writers Susan Voiers Joseph Bearden Ravi Kolli Mike Cheatham David W. Walker John Lacik Steven Levy Monica Tucker Russ Hunter Thom Rigsby Chantaine Rhoe-Bulluck Molly Richardson

We sometimes make the mistake of believing that the business world is static, or that it should be.

As professionals, managers and business owners, we too often act and react as if we think that tomorrow will be a repeat of today. If we just become a little smarter and a little better at what we are already doing, our business will continue to grow. But think back five years. Is everything the same today as it was then?

In the South, we have a saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But the reality is that a system only remains unbroken if factors around it stay the same. Change is constant. It can be positive or negative. It can be frightening and difficult. And usually it is met with resistance. Even when we know the change will be good, it can be very hard to leave behind the safe, familiar feeling of “life as usual”. But with change comes unknown opportunities that never would have been possible without taking that first step.

In the business world change is happening all around us. Whether we embrace it or shun it, it is happening. Some things never change. People still want to feel valued.

They want to know that the businesses they frequent actually care about them, not just their money. Consumers are bombarded with thousands of advertisements and sales pitches every day. In today’s high tech world, they are more educated, savvy and guarded. Getting and holding their attention is a challenge for today’s professionals.

Whether you are the manager of a business with 25 to 100 employees, a professional trying to rise in your industry or running a “mom & pop” operation, success in today’s business environment requires a different set of skills than it did ten years ago. Technology has advanced and competition is fiercer. If you are practicing “business as usual” you are missing opportunities from the changing world around you and losing customers to competitors who are willing to face and embrace those changes.

In the pages of Valley Business Source Magazine and online at valleybusinesssource. com experts from across the valley who keep up with the trends share their experience and knowledge. Discover information about technology advancements, building lasting business relationships, business operations and finances and much more.

Learn how to stand out from the crowd and make your customers cheerleaders for your business.

Distribution Team Tennessee Valley Business Network Members Printer Color Xpress Madison, AL Valley Business Source is published two times annually.

600 Blvd. South, Ste 104 Huntsville, AL 35802 Ph: 256-705-3530 • Fax: 256-217-4484 www.valleybusinesssource.com u

Susan

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Signed articles reflect only the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor. Advertisers are solely responsible for the content of their advertisements. u

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Send all correspondence to Susan Voiers, Editor, at the address above or by email to: susan@valleybusinesssource.com u

Susan Voiers Editor in Chief

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Contributing Photography Susan Voiers

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To advertise, contact us at info@valleybusinesssource.com Connect with us on Facebook: Valley Business Source Connect with us on Twitter: VBusinessSource Connect with us on LinkedIn: tug-in/ValleyBusinessSource

FINANCIAL, LEGAL & INSURANCE

Taxes Can Be A Real Drag

by Joseph Bearden - Partner Mason, Bearden & Diehl Accounting & Tax

They reduce a business’ profitability and consume time to comply with complicated tax laws.

In 2014, 40% of small business owners spent over 80 hours per year on federal taxes….then there’s state and local taxes. Paying high taxes can put companies out of business. But, in some cases taxes can be reduced.

The way a business is set up: sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, S corporation, or C corporation can make a big difference in how income and deduction tax rules apply. The right choice can mean savings. The S corporation is often the best choice for small businesses. It avoids the “double taxation” problem that C corporations have. It also potentially saves on Social Security and Medicare tax. But this choice isn’t right for everyone. It comes with some complications and costs that aren’t worth it if the business is struggling to make a profit. It can result in higher tax such as rental real estate or for high-income taxpayers who just have a side business.

Some special deductions and credits exist for special types of businesses. Most restaurants don’t realize they can get a credit for some of the payroll taxes paid on employees’ tips. This credit is commonly missed, even if a professional prepared the return. Lawn care and other businesses that use gas in off-road equipment can claim a fuel credit. Manufacturers, home builders, and other

business that make things can take an extra deduction of up to 9% of their profits. Alabama offers small employers extra deductions and credits for paying employees’ health insurance and for hiring more employees. For an Alabama business that’s borderline about incorporating, the employee health insurance deduction and the employment credit can make the difference. The owner would count as a new employee of the corporation.

Usually a bigger challenge is how to pay taxes owed. Many people are amazed that they would have to pay in up to 40 percent of their profits in taxes, PLUS payroll taxes for their employees. Getting behind can be a disaster. Payment terms can be worked out with the IRS or state but the easiest way to avoid penalties and liens is to plan ahead.

With the tax code becoming more and more complex and IRS telephone hold times increasing exponentially, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for taxpayers to manage their own taxes.

Business can find peace of mind with the help of a knowledgeable accountant.

“At Mason, Bearden & Diehl, we encourage anyone who’s worried about taxes to sit down and talk with us for free about their situation. What seems pretty daunting to most businesses is routine for us in how we help our clients.”

Mason, Bearden & Diehl 256-533-0806  MBDaccounting.com 4100 Bob Wallace Avenue  Huntsville, AL 35805

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Taxes taking too much of your time? Missing out on tax deductions for your business? Are you taxes as low as possible? We work with business from 1 to 100 employees to keep you out of trouble and make sure you don't pay any more tax than you have to.

Focus on doing what you love and are really good at -- let us handle the taxes and accounting.

Call us today at 256-533-0806. valleybusinesssource.com • 5

FINANCIAL, LEGAL & INSURANCE

Taking a Trade Route You are in business to make money, right? But what if you are letting it slip through your fingers instead?

If your sales increased by $30,000 this year, how would life change for you? If you are in a service industry (salon, web design, construction, consulting, spa, photographer, dentist, massage therapy, etc.), any hour that you do not get booked is gone forever. If your business leases space (hotels, office space, venue, storage space, etc.), any open unit means $0 profit. For retail and wholesale businesses, old inventory taking up space means new inventory cannot be purchased. Now imagine selling that space, time or inventory at full retail value instead of discounting it to make a sale. Instead of losing money, you begin to raise your revenue. Who wouldn’t pick that option? Your newfound additional income can be used to pay for repairs, purchase client gifts, advertising, printing, rent a condo, whatever you need to grow your business or for personal use.

And, you are buying the things you need for pennies on the dollar, increasing business through new customers and word of mouth advertising and conserving your cash resources! That’s exactly what a barter exchange membership does for you.

An exchange uses virtual money, exchange tender. It is legal U.S. tender, taxable and deductible just like cash. Exchanges work differently from direct trade. Members have complete control over what they do and don’t sell for exchange tender and how often they offer items for sell to other members within the exchange.

When a sell is made, virtual money is transferred from the buyer’s account into the seller’s account. It is then available to spend with any other member for wants and needs.

Almost any type of business can benefit from barter. Here are a few examples: Salons & Spas (insert your service based business here) Ex: Cindy, a new salon owner, doesn’t have a lot of cash for advertising and knows that most salon referrals are word of mouth. She joins an exchange and trades cuts and color when her calendar

isn’t full. These are all new clients for Cindy, who love her work.

They refer friends to her who are not in the exchange, therefore becoming cash clients. Cindy now has exchange tender to pay a printer to create flyers and make new signage to market her salon.

What is the open 11:45 am appointment worth if it remains unbooked? Zero! When the time has passed, it is gone forever. So when Cindy buys a sign with exchange tender, she is essentially getting it free. It’s found money that she wouldn’t have otherwise.

Restaurant Do the math: Electricity, workers and other hard expenses are paid whether the table is filled or not. If food cost is .35 per dollar, your profit is .65. If your average table ticket is $50, your cost for a full table is .35x50 or $17.50. If a table is empty, you lose $32.50.

But...what if you could monetize those unused tables and turn them into buying power? Not only will you negate the loss, you turn vanishing inventory into essential goods and services like advertising and cleaning services. AND you just acquired these services at 35 cents on the dollar. If you pay a professional cleaner $250 in exchange tender (price is just an example) to deep clean the restaurant, your cost is really $87.50 (the amount out of pocket to earn that $250)! And, by filling tables, you are attracting new patrons who become cash customers and tell others about you.

And a full, busy restaurant boosts your quality image.

Printer The internet has made the printing business more competitive.

Every printing company has a ton of money invested in the latest printing equipment, not to mention the costs of maintaining payroll, staff and overhead—outlays that need to be paid whether business is booming or slow. Every moment of downtime between print runs is a hit to revenue. During slow times, you can accept exchange tender and use it for things you need. Don’t forget, when you purchase goods and services with exchange tender, your basis is the cost of ink and paper—approximately 30 to 40% of the cost of running a print job.

Over 350 million businesses use barter including 65% of Fortune 500 companies. From major corporations like Xerox, Mattel, Goodyear Tire, DoubleTree Hotels, General Electric and Chrysler to small, large and medium local companies, successful businesses have learned how to leverage their assets through barter. Learn the secret that most Fortune 500 companies already know, it’s smarter to barter.

FINANCIAL, LEGAL & INSURANCE

INCREASING

by Susan Voiers – Executive Director TN Valley Business Network

At some point, almost every entrepreneur has to creatively deal with the challenge of cash flow. It seems to flow out much faster than it comes in.

There is usually a lag time between the need to make payments to suppliers and employees and the time it takes to collect from customers.

Anything that can help delay cash outlay as long as possible or encourage those who owe you to pay quickly will help ease the stress. Looking objectively at what may be reducing your cash flow can lead to leaner operating practices and better customer service.

As with any kind of change, the first step is to take an objective look. Quit saying “This is how we have always done it”. It may have worked well in the past, but with changes in the marketplace and in marketing platforms, step back and take a real hard look to see if it is still the best practice.

You do not receive because you do not ask. You would be surprised how many of your customers will pay when you ASK them to. Don’t be afraid it will offend them, people are busy. They may not even realize that payment is due. Sometimes all it takes is a gentle reminder over the phone or via mail or email. Be polite and start off with a “friendly reminder”. If you still have trouble collecting, consider putting late penalties in place.

Knowing they can avoid late fees somehow makes customers take payment due dates more seriously.

Reward customers for paying in advance or on-time. Consider launching a customer rewards program, holding a special drawing or other incentive program where the only requirement for participating is paying on time or early.

KNOW where your cash is going. Create a daily or weekly cash report and compare it to the previous one to understand where your cash is going.

Most businesses have high and low sales seasons. They naturally also have high and low expense seasons. When making comparisons, take this into account, but look for anything out of the ordinary. Many businesses pay bills without analyzing them. Has your credit card processing fee gone

8 • valleybusinesssource.com

up? Are you ordering too much inventory? Is the contract you canceled still billing you? Improve your margins, cut out unnecessary items and redundant processes.

Send out invoices on time. Customers can’t pay a bill if they haven’t been billed. As simple as that sounds, many businesses put the responsibility on the customer to know when they owe money, how much and when it is due. Don’t expect a customer to pay on time if you haven’t billed them on time.

Pay your own bills with a credit card. Keeping more cash on-hand allows you to float customers billed later in the month.

Offer products in varied price ranges. Keep cash flowing in from smaller ticketed items while you wait for payment for larger ones. Offer installments or leasing options to make larger ticketed items more affordable.

Evaluate your product pricing. Making a low margin on a product makes sense if it is used to upsell to a more profitable item or is a good marketing tool. If not, is the time spent marketing and selling the lower priced item worth the cash it generates?

Surviving Tight Times Almost every entrepreneur has found themselves lacking the cash to pay bills at some time or other. Things happen. Maybe that large client hasn’t followed through with their promise to pay yet. Although it is almost guaranteed to happen at some point, there are things you can do to be prepared and weather it well: • Open a line of credit and use it only for REAL emergencies.

• Most suppliers will work with you and many offer payment terms.

• Offer your best customers a discount for paying early.

• Offer aging receivable customers a discount if they pay today.

• Pay payroll first, crucial suppliers next and ask the rest if they will accept a partial payment or let you skip a payment.

Susan Voiers Executive Director – TN Valley Business Network

IT, WEB DESIGN & SOCIAL MEDIA

Get Social!

Do you hear “social media” and the big “thumbs-up” of Facebook comes to mind? It is the most recognizable platform, but only one of many today. With so many options, where you should spend your time?

Step 1: Know who your

audience is...

Step 2: Make sure you are using the right

platform to reach the target...

Think about your product or service.

Research conducted by Pew Research shows some interesting trends in social media:

• Who are you trying to reach?

• Do you market to other businesses or individuals?

• Is your best customer male or female?

• Are they a specific age range?

• Are they at a certain income level?

NO PARTICIPATION — ­ 26% of internet users do not participate in it. The depend heavily on search engines and local directories. Make sure you are listed on local directories with high SEO rankings for your own website.

MULTIPLATFORM USERS — ­ Of the 74% who do use social media, multiplatform use is rising. 52% of adults now use two or more platforms.

FACEBOOK ­— Facebook is aging. 56% of online adults 65 and older (31% of all seniors) use Facebook. Facebook and Instagram users are the most engaged.

Around 60% of their users sign in daily. If you target your product to women age fifty and over, using these statistics, it is easy to see that Facebook and Pinterest would be the best use of your time.

TWITTER — ­ Twitter is 46%.

PINTEREST ­— Pinterest attracts older people. Twitter and Instagram are still youth dominated networks, but 23% of Internet users aged 50+ use Pinterest.

Women are four times more likely (42% of online women) to be Pinterest users than men. Pinterest and LinkedIn users are wealthier with a high percentage earning over $75,000 annually.

INSTAGRAM ­— 53% of internet-­using young adults ages 18-­29 use Instagram.

Instagrammers also use Twitter. There is a 50% crossover between the networks.

LINKEDIN — ­ 50% of college educated internet users use LinkedIn. If you offer services or products to other businesses or are targeting individuals with a higher level of education, LinkedIn is a good fit for you.

valleybusinesssource.com • 9

: e r A w M o S N rA What is it?

by Ravi Kolli President – Interweave Technologies

Wh

Ransomware is the one of the latest malware threats (malicious software that includes viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, and adware) and part of the arsenal of tools used by cybercriminals. It essentially denies access to a device or files by

encrypting files until a ransom has been paid. Ransomware can encrypt any drive that is assigned a driver letter (i.e. C:, D:, E:, F). This can be a USB memory stick, external USB hard drive, shared folders, shared network drives, and cloudbased storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive/Skydrive, etc…) assigned a drive letter.

How do you protect yourself? The best way to protect yourself

is to prevent this software from being downloaded and run. We typically see this malware coming in through email, drive-by-download and from for-“free” software. Preventing these attacks requires improving your security which is best done in layers of defense.

The first layer is you. After all it takes human interaction in order to initiate or allow the malware to run – opening an unsolicited email attachment even if it is from someone you know, visiting a malicious link/site, or loading those free software or games. The second layer is a firewall that implements anti-spam, anti-phishing, and/ or anti-virus. The third is a top notch antivirus software program.

Very few of the anti-virus programs have the technology to stop the ransomware from doing damage once it is run.

You are already infected. Now what? The latest ransomware software uses RSA 2048 encryption to encrypt files. Just to give you an idea of how strong this is, an average desktop computer is estimated to take around 6.4 quadrillion years to crack an RSA 2048 key. You may be able to remove the malware that originally encrypted your files but once the files are encrypted you have very few options. The best option is to have a regularly updated backup. Since ransomware can encrypt drives that are mapped including external USB or thumb drives, you need a well-thought-out regiment. It is best to use a backup service or have external drives that can be disconnected when not actively backing up. Once the ransomware is removed, you can easily restore to a previous version of your files that are not encrypted. You can try to use System Restore to get back to a knownclean state. But newer versions of ransomware can have the ability to delete “Shadow” files from System Restore, which means those files will not be there when you try to replace your malware-damaged versions. Unfortunately, the next option is paying the ransom.

A typical payment method is Bitcoin which allows for complete anonymity of the party that is receiving the funds. I strongly advise that you do not pay the ransom. Paying the criminals may get your data back but they are under no obligation to do as promised – they can take your money and provide nothing in return, because there is no backlash if the criminals fail to deliver. There have been plenty of cases where the decryption key never arrived or where it failed to properly decrypt the files. Plus, it encourages criminal behavior!

Ravi Kolli – President – Interweave Technologies Since 2005, Interweave Technologies has created and maintained customer’s IT Infrastructure. They also monitor and protect these systems through a variety of services including anti-virus, firewall protection, system auditing and surveillance to ensure client’s data is secure.

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R

RESPONSIVE How Do You Respond?

SALES & MARKETING

By Mike Cheatham – Owner – threeDays

After all, it is a reflection of your business and often the first impression a potential customer has of you. Between 50-70 percent of the sales process is done before a customer ever walks through your door, calls or emails you. Today, most people who have a need or a problem to solve research online to find out what product can fill that need and who can best provide it. Responsive design is a hot topic. We’ve moved beyond mobile and finally reached the point where companies are accepting the fact that the best ROI comes from fully integrated marketing programs. It’s hard to fully integrate when your website is a convoluted mess of versions for different devices or worse, a single version that renders poorly on different devices.

In responsive design, the device does the work and automatically adjusts according to a device’s screen size (large or small) and orientation (landscape or portrait). It switches between these options on-the-fly. The case for responsive design is clear.

Now is the time to prioritize responsive design into your budget.

With a responsive website, businesses can be in front of consumers at every step of their online journey. Someone researching a business’ site may start reading content and watching videos from their smart device as a passenger in a car, or on their tablet waiting at the dance studio while their children are rehearsing.

If the business has a traditional website and a separate mobile friendly site, potential customers interested in learning more about the company’s products and services online may become frustrated.

The lack of complete content on the mobile site or the inability to navigate through the full site on their smartphone may cause them to give up altogether and end up on a competitor’s site.

A Mobile Version of Your Website Isn’t Good Enough

It’s important to understand that having a mobile version of your website isn’t enough anymore. Responsive websites simplify internet marketing and SEO. Instead of having to develop and manage content for multiple websites, businesses with responsive sites can take a unified approach to content management because they have only the one responsive site to manage. The same applies to analytics and strategy development and deployment. A responsive website means there is only one set of analytics to examine and a single strategy to develop and deploy.

In addition, responsive websites are easier for consumers to find than traditional or mobile sites because they come up higher in search engines’ rankings. In fact, Google recommends responsive

DESIGN

When customers have questions, you want to respond quickly and professionally.

Shouldn’t your website do the same thing?

web design because having a single URL for desktop and mobile sites makes it easier for Google to discover content and for Google’s algorithms to assign indexing properties to it.

As the internet transforms further into a platform of services and user interfaces that tie those services together, leveraging this technology in the future will allow companies to integrate a plethora of back-end services, such as Facebook, Twitter, Salesforce and Amazon Web Services. It can then present the integrated data back out the front-end layer on a responsive design so the application looks great on all devices without custom coding for each device or screen size.

Expensive back-end solutions are no longer needed to integrate legacy systems.

One thing is certain, you don’t want to fall behind and watch your competitors launch responsive websites while yours is still stuck in 2010 (or earlier). The time to get responsive with your web design is now.

Mike Cheatham – Owner – threeDays With over 35 years of experience, threeDays is a locally owned software development company that focuses on responsive web design. They also specialize in e-commerce, mobility, cloud computing, digital transformation, infrastructure and Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) Solutions.

valleybusinesssource.com • 11

NETWORKING, BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

“I’m So Excited!”

Generating REAL Excitement for Your Business The day has dragged on forever. The minutes tick by slowly. Anticipation is building. You are excited because after putting in eight long hours at the office, tonight you get to go to a business networking event and BUY something! Wait, that’s

not why you are going? Well, as surprising as it may seem, that’s not why anyone else is there either. Yet time and time again I see professionals make the mistake of “selling” at networking events. It’s only natural. After all, your main purpose in attending is to increase sales.

But, attempting to convince someone that you have the biggest, best, most advanced product on the market and that they and all of their friends need it doesn’t make much sense when you’ve just met them. They may seem enthralled by your words, but chances are they are merely being polite. Secretly they are probably thinking, “How can I get away?” or “I wonder what appetizers they have tonight.”

The purpose of attending a networking event is not to make an immediate sale, but to build relationships. Accomplishing that means that when they or one of their contacts needs your product or service, you will naturally come to mind to fill that need. Think of it as the first step in creating that old word-of-mouth advertising that we all know is the most effective driver of sales.

Creating word-of-mouth advertising by networking is achieved through three steps:

1. People have to know that your product or service is available. In networking, that is accomplished by

attending events and giving a quick overview of what you do when asked, not a detailed sales pitch. For instance when asked what I do, I could say “I help professionals get in front of more of their target clients at a fraction of normal marketing costs through co-operative marketing.” I don’t need to go into details. Even if someone asks how I do it, I give a very brief explanation. The tendency of many professionals,

12 • valleybusinesssource.com

by Susan Voiers – Executive Director TN Valley Business Network

when asked that question is to launch into a five minute dissertation explaining exactly what they do, how they do it and eventually they may get to the reason they do it.

2. People have to like you enough to want to do business with you. So how do you build that comradery? Lik-

ability is built by showing the other person that you are more interested in discovering how you might help them than you are in promoting yourself. Good questions to ask are: “What do you do?”, “How did you get into that field?”, “Describe your best client.” or anything that will let them know that you actually want to connect and help them grow their business. And then actually LISTEN. 3. Build trust. That is not going to happen in one meeting. When you have a problem to solve, you ask someone you trust to recommend someone they trust. If you are asking another professional to recommend you to their contacts, they have to first trust that you will do what you say you are going to do and that you are going to offer a good product at a reasonable price in a reasonable time. That kind of trust takes time to grow. But there are steps you can take after the event to begin to build trust. Follow up! That doesn’t mean sending an email about your amazing current sales offer. Instead what about sending an email with an article link you think might interest them along with a note that says “I remember you mentioning you were looking for a solution for this problem and I thought this might help you.”, or calling to set a time to meet and see how you can work together to benefit each other.

Follow these simple steps and others won’t be able to recommend your business fast enough. Growing through networking takes time and requires a willingness to help others. For professionals willing to invest the time, the door is opened to increased sales, strategic partnerships, and access to expertise and support.

NETWORKING, BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Top 10 Tips for Choosing a Caterer & Planning Your Meal

by David W. Walker Owner Atlanta Bread Company Huntsville

Planning a meal for a long meeting or corporate event? It may sound easy. But, as anyone who has been tasked with running a smooth event knows, there’s more to catering than simply ordering the right entrees and desserts. Establish a long term relationship with one or more caterers. Many have a specialty food type – sandwich and salad, morning pastries, pizza, even BBQ. Find an expert in each type who you can trust to take care of details.

1. Flexible, Reliable & Locally Owned – Many events have last

minute changes. Some events pop up out of thin air (meaning the boss forgot to mention it to you). Make sure your caterer is flexible. Can you depend on them to add additional meals or change a menu item last minute for special dietary needs? Will they take last minute orders? A locally owned caterer has a vested interest in being on time, taking care of the small details, and going the extra mile to take care of last minute requests.

2. Who Is Attending Your Event? – Executives in town for a power meeting may expect a different menu than a younger crowd who may want more vegetarian options. A holiday event for employee families will need choices for children and adults.

3. How Much Food – How do you ensure the food doesn’t run out without having trays of leftovers? This largely depends on the type of food you are serving, how long the meeting will last, and whether your guests will have eaten elsewhere before the meeting. Providing a variety of food makes determining the right amount a bit trickier. Some guests will take a little of everything and others will opt for only a sandwich or salad. Your caterer should be able to give you a good guideline.

For multi day events, review after the first day to adjust the food up or down.

4. Type of Meal – Think about the event setting. If attendees will be going into breakout sessions, a box meal they can take with them makes more sense. If there is a long lunch break, sandwich and salad trays with more variety may be more appealing.

5. Variety – Don’t make the mistake of ordering only what you like. An expert caterer will help you set a menu mix with more general appeal.

A menu with variety allows you to provide smaller portions so that people can choose based on preference.

6. Healthy Options – For a health conscience group, offer healthy options like salad, soups, veggie trays, gluten free, fruit bowls instead of cookies, etc. Many people prefer organic and natural ingredients and fresh, locally sourced foods.

7. Staying on Budget – It’s easy to provide a wonderful meal if a budget isn’t an object. But for most events, you will have a specified amount to work with. An expert caterer will help ensure you are offering a good variety and still stick to the budget.

8. Allergies/Special Diets – Be aware of any special needs. A group of a dozen or more may include vegetarians. There are many nutritious vegetarian sandwich and soup options besides salads. Food allergies or religious dietary restrictions should be communicated specifically to your caterer so they can take extra precautions to accommodate all needs.

9. Turn Key – Ask your caterer if they provide everything needed for the event. Not all caterers do. There is nothing worse than having people ready for lunch and finding out no one thought to provide the ice, plates or cups.

10. Set Up & Clean Up – Will your caterer take care of setup so that you can focus on other things, or will you need to assign someone to cover it? How long should you allocate for setup? Provide plenty of table space for all of the food, beverages, snacks, plates, cups and utensils. Don’t forget to have a few trash cans for guests to dispose of their plates when finished.

David W. Walker - Owner Atlanta Bread Company Huntsville Cheryl and David Walker have operated Huntsville’s Atlanta Bread Bakery Café since 2002. They have catered for small and large business events for over a decade.

World Flavors Catered to Your Table Our delicious, healthy, and internationally inspired dishes are sure to satisfy all your catering needs.

DISCOVER MORE AT YOUR LOCAL ATLANTA BREAD. AtlantaBreadHuntsville.com (256) 922-2253 | Catering@AtlantaBreadHuntsville.com valleybusinesssource.com • 13

14 • valleybusinesssource.com

NETWORKING, BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Membership Has Its Rewards Inside these pages, you will find articles submitted by just a few of the experts within our membership base. Numbering over 200 and growing, TN Valley Business Network members choose the benefits that work for them.

Having a vehicle to showcase their expertise is just one of our many member benefits.

With membership, participation in any Network benefit is either FREE or at a discounted cost. Some members choose to only take advantage of some of our many co-marketing, networking or business education opportunities, others enjoy the full benefits of membership by participating in one or more of our 11 different industry specific or affinity based alliances to grow relationships and learn how to help each other increase business.

Visitors are always welcome and encouraged to come make new connections.

ALLIANCES FOR PROFESSIONALS:

(Members may participate in as many Alliances as they choose at no additional costs. They just purchase their own meal at the event) B2B Alliance – Products and services for other businesses B2C Alliance – Products and services for individuals Green Alliance – Recycled, energy efficient and biodegradable products Health Alliance – Integrative health, bringing together mainstream and alternative health professionals Home Resources Alliance – Products and services for the home MOB (Men of Business) Alliance – Bringing together male professionals for professional development and to make new connections Sales & Marketing Alliance – Building sales and marketing skills TN River Business Alliance – Bringing together professionals from Morgan, Madison and Limestone Counties Vital Living Alliance – Targeted marketing to the 50+ demographic WE (Wedding & Event Professionals) Alliance – Weddings, family celebrations, kid’s parties and corporate events Women in Business – Bringing together female professionals for support, professional development and new connections

CO-MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES: Expos – Bridal, Vital Living, Business Showcase, Direct Sales Online Marketing – Webpage & banner ads on our websites promoted to the community as a resource for anything they are looking for in that industry Magazines targeted to members ideal client base – Valley Vital Living, Valley Business Source, My Memorable Event

NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES: Coffee & Connections – FREE Quarterly breakfast-time open networking event All-Alliance Luncheons – Quarterly lunchtime speed networking event, bringing all of our alliances and visitors together in one place After Hours – FREE Periodic open networking after-hours events

Many of our Alliances are directed by business coaches and consultants with years of experiences in small business management.

EDUCATION: Empowered Professional Women’s Mini-Conferences Educational Seminars and Workshops (sales, marketing, social media)

Find out more about how the Network can help grow your business at thevalleybusinessnetwork.com or visit our calendar to view upcoming events.

valleybusinesssource.com • 15

Imagine that a new customer has been referred to you and calls with questions. You ensure them you will find

out the answers and call them back… but, you never do.

Have you ever attended a great networking event, left with a handful of business cards from new contacts and placed them in a stack to follow up? Are they still sitting there? You are not alone.

Even with the best of intentions, we get busy and the follow up after the event gets forgotten.

Now imagine every person you met could become a new customer or strategic partner who could potentially introduce you to dozens of new customers. By not taking the time to follow up and build relationships, how much money are you leaving on the table? What opportunities have you missed? The honest answer is that if you are not taking the steps to build those relationships, you may as well have stayed home.

If networking is part of your marketing strategy, make sure your investment of time pays off.

Create a follow up system that works for you and start seeing the benefits of your hard work.

Remember, the purpose of follow up should be to grow relationships and see how you can help each other, not make an immediate sale. But with relationships, sales will come and multiply.

Follow these simple tips and see your network and your bank balance grow.

1. When you plan to attend a conference or networking event, block out an hour on your

16 • valleybusinesssource.com

Art

The

of the

FollowUp

calendar for the next day to follow up with your new contacts. Creating a time for follow up places an importance on accomplishing it instead of it being something that you will get to eventually.

2. Create your own code for follow up. For someone you need to contact right away, write a star on their card, an x for follow ups within the next week, etc. When you sort through the cards, separate them into stacks of importance.

3. Take a minute to write a note for yourself on the cards you receive. Something that will jog you memory about your conversation, topics to send them articles about or ideas about joint ventures.

4. If you meet someone you want to connect with right away, ask to set a follow up appointment right then. If they are interested in seeing how you may be able to work together, they will normally commit to a meeting time.

5. After the event, place the cards in a visible place so you are able to sort through and start making phone calls or sending emails at the time you have scheduled.

6. Take notes as you contact each person.

Did you leave a voice mail? Schedule a time to call back? Have you promised to send an article or more information?

If so, put the time and day you need to contact them again in your calendar.

7. Add the person’s information to your database along with any important notes.

Continue to check in with them from time to time until they either commit to a time to meet or let you know they are not interested.

8. Add them to your newsletter list. Make sure your newsletter is full of tips and ideas, not sales pitches.

9. Connect with them on Linkedin and/or Facebook, depending on your business and social media habits.

10. Forward articles they might find of interest with a short note “I saw this and thought of you.

Hope it is helpful”.

Networking is a time investment. It should be done strategically and with a goal in mind. When done with purpose, it can be one of the most rewarding investments you will ever make in your business.

by Susan Voiers – Executive Director TN Valley Business Network

OPERATIONS & BUSINESS PRACTICES

Practical Design

by John Lacik – Floor Coverings International

The best commercial flooring for your business depends on budget, foot traffic, care and maintenance. The right choice can

create the ideal space for both clients and employees. Some of the most popular types of commercial flooring include wood flooring, vinyl flooring, carpet and carpet tile and rubber flooring. The most important tip to consider for your commercial flooring is to choose the type that best suits your commercial interior space.

Get a Classic, Timeless Look with Wood Flooring

Tip: For classic beauty, wood flooring is your answer. Wood flooring is timeless. It elevates the look and feel of any space and is great for offices, hotel lobbies and retail space. It is strong, durable and easy to clean. The down side of wood flooring is that it is easily damaged by moisture and prone to scratching. If damage does occur, it can be refinished to renew its beauty.

Vinyl Flooring Offers Style and Affordability

Tip: Vinyl flooring is probably the best option for durability, resiliency and low-maintenance. The best option for high traffic businesses like retail stores may be vinyl flooring. It offers long-lasting performance. With new technology, vinyl flooring has come a long way. More durable than ever before, it is also stylish, coming in many designs and colors and is resistant to dents and scratches.

Carpet/Carpet Tile Warms Up a Room

Tip: Carpeting will provide noise and sound insulation as well as being soft to walk on. Hotels and offices are ideal candidates for carpet or carpet tile. The downside is that it stains easily and may require more maintenance. Carpet tile may be a better option since each tile

can be replaced individually. It also comes in a variety of styles and patterns, allowing you to pick the one that sets the right mood for your office or business.

Resiliency and Easy Maintenance with Rubber Flooring

Tip: Rubber flooring is a good choice if you need something that resists stains, wear and tear. Ideally suited for high-traffic commercial interior spaces like restaurants, hospitals and offices, it is extremely durable. It is resistant to water and heat and maintenance is a breeze.

Rubber flooring is also slip-resistant and sound-absorbent, while being comfortable to walk on and is uniform in construction and color.

Remember that proper floor installation will ensure that you get the most use out of your commercial flooring, no matter what type you select.

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www.huntsville.floorcoveringsinternational.com valleybusinesssource.com • 17

OPERATIONS & BUSINESS PRACTICES

Developing your Vision, Mission and Values

by Steven Levy – Stevenlevyassociates.com

Growth of a business is often a dual edged sword to business owners. The growth represents more

revenue, profit (hopefully), customers, products, and employees. These are all positive for the business. However, growth can cause problems in that the consistency is often not the same when the owner had his/her hand in everything. How do you know that your customers are getting the same quality, service, value as they did when you were directly involved? The breakdown occurs when employees don’t understand what the overall plan is and what are the cornerstone principles that guide the business. These principles are summarized in the Vision, Mission and Values of the business.

The owner knows what these principles are, but rarely articulates them. They must be incorporated into all activities, communications and processes that are critical to the business. This responsibility sits with the owner and is often one of the hardest things to do. What follows is a basic description of each.

Vision

The Vision is what the owner wants the business to be. Not what it is today, but what it will look like in the future. Below are some things to consider when developing the vision.

• Dream big, and focus on success • Use clear, concise language • Infuse your vision statement with passion and emotion • Paint a graphic mental picture of the business you want

Mission

The Mission is a description of what the business provides to its’ customers and/or the community. Below are some things to consider when developing the mission.

• Who is your company?

• What do you do?

• What do you stand for?

• Why do you do it?

• What markets are you serving, and what benefits do you offer them?

• Do you solve a problem for your customers?

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Values

The values are how you conduct your business. We have all seen the long list in the lobby of larger companies. They often ring hollow. Your values are what is important to you. There should be somewhere between 4 and 8 values. Each should be a short statement followed by a sentence or two that describes the value. Typical areas can include: customer service, innovation, teamwork, integrity, etc. The descriptors should make it clear to customers and employees what they mean. For example, “Provide world class customer service”. This is followed by a description of what your definition of world class service is. It may relate to response time, quality of work, etc.

Once the vison, mission and values are established, it is important to incorporate them into all aspects of your business. They need to be communicated to all employees on a regular basis. Work place signs and banners, employee handbooks, posters in lobbies are great ways to remind and reinforce what is important and why it is important. New employees should be educated in these areas as part of the on-boarding process. Company meetings are a great place for the owner to express these to employees. Consistency and repetition is the key.

Any time an issue is being addressed (customer problem, new product launch, etc) within the company, circling back to the vision, mission and values, is a good way to make sure the solution complies with these beliefs. As the top leader in your organization, it is important to recognize employees who demonstrate the values in an exemplary way. Conversely, employees who violate the values need to be dealt with in a timely fashion. Similar to any other performance issue.

The development of the vision, mission and values will set the framework for your entire organization and will insure that your company operates the way you want it to, even when you are not there.

Steven Levy worked in industry for over 32 years holding a variety of senior level positions with several large multi-national companies. His experience includes manufacturing supervision, financial analysis, marketing, sales and operations management. Since 2007 he has put his experience to work helping business owners in North Alabama develop business plans, obtain financing, grow sales and profits, improve cash flow, deal with employee issues and develop an exit strategy.

OPERATIONS & BUSINESS PRACTICES

Are You the Collective Type?

Do you ever look around your house or your office and think “What should I do with all this STUFF?” That question comes up a lot since most people seem to be the “collective type”, almost semi-hoarders. We want to get organized but we

don’t want to eliminate or downsize.

• Do you really use all the things you have on a regular basis?

• Can you actually find items when you need them?

If you answered no to either of those questions, then you may fall into the semi-hoarder category. Maybe it is time to apply the rules of downsizing. It doesn’t have to be a painful process. In fact it can be pain-free, stress-free and rewarding in the end. Don’t let the size of the task overwhelm you. Instead of looking at everything that needs to be done, concentrate on one area at a time. Once it is completed move on to the next area. A clutter free space allows for a more stress free life.

By following these easy tips, you won’t even realize you are downsizing until you look around and the stress is gone.

1. Decide what will happen to the items currently occupying the space. Establish a pile of things to keep, one to discard (a.k.a. trash) and another to donate or sell. You can add more categories as needed (take to the car, drop off at consignment shop, return to someone, etc.) Everything goes into one of these piles.

2. Once you have established which items to keep, find a place for everything and put things in their place. Place only essentials that you use often at arms-length, on your desk or within easy reach. Supplies, paperwork and personal items should be kept in the zones you’ve established for them.

3. Create a daily paper system. In today’s “paperless society”, most professionals are still buried under paperwork. Streamline the process with hanging files or baskets labeled To Read, To Do, To File. Establish set days for each, so that you don’t get behind or feel the overwhelming need to do everything at once. For ongoing projects, keep these files colorcoded and set them apart.

This way you’ll know where everything is and what requires your attention first.

4. Keep a basket or drawer for short-term storage. Know yourself and your habits. If you collect business cards or have a magazine subscription, keep baskets devoted to these items, and clear them out on a rolling basis. If you frequently carry a gym bag or change of shoes with you, designate a drawer or cupboard shelf for these things to get them out of the way. After de-cluttering, follow a daily ritual of always placing items where they belong.

If they don’t have a home, then they may belong in one of the other previous categories (discard or donate).

Monica Tucker – Owner Organize2Clean Monica is a professional organizer who helps busy, working people control the chaos and clutter by helping them find an organizational system that works for their style.

valleybusinesssource.com • 19

A Window of Opportunity: Transitioning to Chip Payment Technology Published by: Russ Hunter, Schooley Mitchell Written by: Rich Bartolotta, Schooley Mitchell

“Credit cards embedded with a chip provide for a more secure transaction, reducing the risk of fraud.”

T

om Peters once said, “If a window of opportunity appears, don’t pull down the shade.” This is particularly good advice for businesses soon-to-be affected by the changeover to embedded chip technology in the United States. Over 130 countries around the world currently process credit card transactions using cards embedded with a computer chip. The U.S. is not currently one of them, but that is about to change.

Credit cards embedded with a chip provide for a more secure transaction, reducing the risk of fraud.

These cards are extremely difficult to counterfeit when used with a chip-enabled terminal, as they employ enhanced cardholder verification methods.

Chip cards store more information than magnetic stripe cards being used extensively in the U.S. at present. What’s more, the chip itself generates a unique code for every transaction. This means if a hacker were to steal data from a major retailer, for example, they would not be able to use it for future fraudulent transactions.

In the United States, the migration from magnetic stripe cards to embedded chip cards is underway.

Some estimates suggest the U.S. accounts for almost half of the credit card fraud worldwide despite only representing about a quarter of all card transactions.

Moving to chip enabled payment technology is, therefore, extremely necessary.

One particularly important point to be aware of is that the liability for fraudulent transactions is changing along with the migration to chip payment technology. Today, banks absorb the majority of fraudulent credit card costs, but as of October 2015 the liability equation is changing. If a customer pays for goods or services with a fraudulent chip embedded card, and the merchant processes that transaction without a chip-enabled terminal,

the merchant would be liable for said fraudulent transaction.

Merchants will need to make investments in chipenabled terminals to mitigate their liability risk. As merchants make these changes, they might also be well served to use this as an opportunity to assess their current merchant services environment. Why not review the quality and cost of your current provider? You might find opportunity to reduce costs and fund the terminal investment from savings, or come away with better services overall.

In my career I’ve found the best time to reassess all aspects of your business is when a business or industry experiences significant change. As the U.S. payment industry undergoes this much needed migration to chip embedded card technology, why not step back and make the most of this window of opportunity? Don’t just pull down the shade.

Russ Hunter, Business Optimization Specialist Schooley Mitchell 256.203.2105 www.schooleymitchell.com/rhunter © Schooley Mitchell 2015

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Our concept is simple.

4 We analyze your telecommunications system and needs.

4 We give you independent and objective advice on how to optimize your configuration.

4 Our fee is simply a share of the savings we generate for you.

WE ARE THE TELECOM EXPERTS. Russ Hunter Business Optimization Specialist 256.203.2105 russ.hunter@schooleymitchell.com www.schooleymitchell.com/rhunter

OPERATIONS & BUSINESS PRACTICES

How to Get Things Done AND Have a Life Have you ever heard someone say, “I’d love to do that, but I simply don’t have time.” Maybe you’ve said that yourself? We have adopted the “busy” response as a badge of progress and success. Busy measures how much work you’re doing, not how much progress you’re making.

You can be really BUSY digging a ditch with a tablespoon but you’re not going to make very much progress!

No doubt you are working very hard. But are you making progress? Is your work moving the needle? Is it helping you achieve your dreams, or just occupying your days? We are all constrained by the clock.

A minute for you is a minute for me. A day is the same all over the world. So why do some people seem to get so much done while the rest of us struggle to tick off even a couple of items from our never ending to do list?

To join the ranks of the uber-successful business owners and leaders, we must become masters of getting the right things done. Spending those minutes, hours, and days doing what others won’t so we can live as others can’t!

Rule 1: Know Your Outcome. The question “What are you really trying to accomplish?” sounds simple but it is deceptively hard to answer. It may be about money, growing the business or getting more customers. You don’t want to get more done. In fact, you’d love to do less. What you really want more of is results. Do you need three new employees or do you just need to get orders out on time? Maybe a small tweak in the process can have the same impact.

Rule 2: Know What Matters. We sometimes perform a task “because it has to get done”. We will spend countless hours behind the screen and keyboard trying to find the right way to enter the receipt for a business lunch into our accounting system and less than 3 minutes looking at the end-of-month reports our accountant produces!

Where is your time best spent? All too often we distract ourselves with the volume of easy work and ignore or delay the real, value adding work that only the owner or leader can accomplish.

Rule 3: Know Your Limitations. We’ve all heard that as a business owner we have to spend time doing things we don’t enjoy, right?

Well my good friend and mentor Dan Miller says we should focus 80% of our time on the work we love, 15% on learning something new, and only 5% on the things we don’t enjoy!

But if we only spend 5% on the things we don’t enjoy or we’re not good at, how will anything ever get done? Let’s think about that accounting example again.

Do you believe that there are people out there who LOVE to do bookkeeping and accounting? (Yes, they really do exist!) When you keep that task to yourself, not only are you doing a poor job at it, you’re also denying someone else the opportunity to do their art!

Let them do their highest work and that will free you up to do yours!

Put it to work for you now that you know three of the secrets used by “those” people who consistently get things done and seem to have success dropped in their lap! Implement these three simple changes to your daily, weekly and monthly routine and you will quickly find yourself among “those” people!

22 • valleybusinesssource.com

Thom Rigsby Thom is a business owner with more than 26 years and 8 businesses under his belt. He works with business owners and leaders to build sustainable, scalable and profitable businesses. You can connect with Thom at www.ThomRigsby.com

SALES & MARKETING

Are You Making a Living...or Designing a Life?

by Chantaine Rhoe-Bulluck Sales and Lifestyle Strategist President of Lifestyle Strategies

Have you ever struggled with balancing the demands of home, health, career and relationships like I did? So much to do, so little time…

One of the best – kept secrets that I have found to help me design the life I can’t wait to wake up to, can be found in your pocket or purse – the Evernote app on your smartphone. Evernote allows you to put everything in one place – notes, pictures, documents, web clips, emails, even audio notes. Sync makes your notes accessible across all of your devices so that everything you need is wherever you are. There are so many ways to use the app. Since I am all about utilizing simple strategies, I wanted to share 3 ways you can use Evernote to increase your productivity and marketing today.

Master the Moments • Have you ever had a really, really,

busy day, and at the end of the day you were wondering what you really got done? We often hear, plan your day and work your plan. Exceptional results are the result of consistent daily choices. Research shows that the most confident, successful people commit to a daily morning ritual. Brainstorm the daily activities that help you feel accomplished and store them as a checklist in your Evernote. An established routine signals to your brain that it’s time to get into work, exercise or whatever mode you need to be in to accomplish your goal. Brainstorm time management questions that you can ask yourself to help you create your perfect day, such as: “What are my 2 most valuable outcomes for today?”, “To whom can I provide value today?”, “What can I do to show love to my spouse today?” or “What are carryover activities from yesterday?” Store your list of questions in Evernote. Use these questions

on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis to create a to-do list, right in Evernote, of activities to support your success.

Master the Mundane • Don’t want to deal with an email right away? Or would you like to keep track of an email without leaving it in your inbox? You can just forward those emails to your Evernote and deal with them later. Or keep them for easy reference in the future. Subscribe to newsletters using your Evernote email address, so newsletters won’t clutter your inbox and go directly into Evernote. Do you have a stack of business cards collecting dust from networking events? Take a snapshot of them and import directly into a Contacts folder in your Evernote.

Evernote even gives you the option to add the contact into your phone’s contact list.

Master the Media • Have you ever tried to recall a really great idea or post that you saw ‘somewhere’? Create a library of ideas in Evernote by creating dedicated notebooks for customer questions, Facebook updates, website resources, stock images, recipes, etc. Use tags and stacks to organize them as much as you want for easy finding when you need them. Create a weekly Notebook and plan out the updates and articles to share on your social media networks. Then all you have to do once you’re ready to share is go to Evernote, grab everything you’ve already planned out and share it onto your social networks. Are you an Evernote fan? Would you like to be? It’d be great to hear your favorite tips and questions on www.facebook.com/ChantaineConnects

Chantaine Rhoe-Bulluck – Sales and Lifestyle Strategist – President of Lifestyle Strategies Chantaine is on a mission empowering ‘ordinary’ people to live prosperous lives. As a real estate consultant, Chantaine learned to apply professional sales training, employ sales systems to build a successful practice and discovered a passion for helping others prosper by mentoring fellow agents to achieve their own success. Chantaine is an entrepreneur, business owner and Eric Lofholm Certified Sales Trainer, Coach and Speaker and applies sales principles to empower others in sales, business and personal development.

valleybusinesssource.com • 23

SALES & MARKETING

Maintaining Is a Thing of the Past In the business world today, you are either growing or getting smaller. If you are looking to grow your business, there are really only three ways to do it: 1. Get More Customers. Customers are the lifeblood of every

company, small and large. Without customers, business runs dry and you will go out of business. Due to natural attrition and new competitors constantly arising in your space, only maintaining your customer base isn’t enough. Prospecting should be among your business’ top priorities.

How Can Online Marketing Help?

• Targeted marketing. With online marketing, prospecting is easier now than ever. Many of the internet’s elite social media platforms and search engine sites now allow you to display your advertisements directly to your perfect prospects. Online marketing gives you the ability to target someone specifically because of their interests, geographic location, buying habits, income, sex, age, career field, and much more. The shotgun approach is no longer best practice and online marketing is now the most efficient and effective marketing approach.

• Your business website must contain clear calls to action.

“Virtual” billboards no longer work.

• Educating your customers. Purchasers are smarter now than ever, they do their due diligence. Be sure to include several articles, videos, comparison charts, reviews, and customer testimonials on your website to help your prospect make an educated decision to do business with you.

• Social Media can increase your visibility within your market.

2. Get Your Customers to Spend More. This seems like a no brainer, but believe me... It is easier said than done. You can go about this in a few ways.

• Raise your prices.

• Influence the customer to purchaser other complimentary products.

• Or upsell the customer to purchase something of higher value.

Increasing your pricing is hard for many reason. Like other business owners you probably fear that the competition will beat you out. But when done correctly, increasing your prices can work in your favor.

We’ve found in working with hundreds of businesses, that customers actually don’t want the cheapest price. Yes, you read that correctly. Customers are focused on value, not price. Customers want to be taken care of and in this dollar menu world we live in, you will find that more customers value great service over cheap prices. If you lower your prices too much, you could be throwing your profit margin out the window. If you are not profitable, why be in business?

How Can Online Marketing Help?

• Online marketing allows you to seamlessly offer additional products to customers checking out on your website. This is a consistent model that has proven to be very effective.

Unlike in traditional brick and mortar business, there are no

24 • valleybusinesssource.com

by Molly Richardson Totally Infused

pushy sales person, cashiers that hate their lives, or inconsistent employees who can’t seem to deliver a script at checkout.

• Deliver the value that customers are searching for by displaying positive reviews on your website, Social Media, and online directories like Yelp and Angie’s List.

3. Get Your Customers to Purchase More. Often The key to influencing your customer base to spend money with you more often is awareness. Staying in front of your customers and continuously providing them with valuable content, products, services and giveaways helps to retain your customers. The good news is, this can also trigger them to buy from you more often.

How Online Marketing Can Help?

• Stay top of mind through Social Media, email newsletters and display ads on websites that your customers frequently visit.

• Retargeting advertisements that offer new or similar products to previous customers.

• Automation. Online marketing can automatically send birthday wishes, holiday greetings, and a quick thank you note to ALL of your customers. This type of consistent top of mind marketing will result in more engagement and more frequent purchases.

Molly Richardson – Totally Infused Stepping in to fill a gap between the technology and marketing worlds, Molly is a digital marketer who helps businesses grow by tapping into the power of great marketing and automation.

SALES & MARKETING

Going Up? Is Your Elevator Pitch Taking You to the Penthouse or Basement? According to Wikipedia, an Elevator Pitch is: “A speech or statement in a short summary used to quickly and simply define a process, product, service, organization or event and its value proposition.” I like this definition better: “A succinct and persuasive sales pitch.” But, it’s objective is to “sell” interest, not a product or service.

Imagine stepping into the elevator to take you to your next appointment, you look over and the gentleman you have been working so hard, for months, to set a meeting with is right next to you. You look over, say hi, introduce yourself….. and? This is your one chance to capture his attention and leave him wanting to know more. What would you say in the time that it takes the elevator to travel from one floor to the next to accomplish that? Even if you are not lucky enough to meet that dream client on an elevator ride, you constantly have the chance to capture someone’s attention in the grocery line, at a networking event, a luncheon or other event. When someone asks, “What do you do?”, do tell them, or give them a teaser? The next time you are asked that question and you give the standard answer, pay attention to the other person’s reaction. Do they give you a blank stare, nod or smile politely, or maybe even make a quick excuse to walk away? If so, maybe it’s time to think a little more strategically about your elevator pitch.

How to Be Forgotten - What NOT To Do: 1. Use the “Old Standby”. Different events call for different pitches. One used at a networking event should be different than the one you use with a potential customer. Think about who you are talking to and what might interest them.

2. Use Industry Slang. Not everyone knows what your industry acronyms and jargon mean. It’s a big mistake to make potential customers feel inferior because they don’t know what you are talking about.

3. Try to Make a Sale. An elevator pitch should OPEN the door to a future sale or connection. Don’t make the mistake of trying to sell your product and having the door slammed shut before you get through it.

4. Sound Rehearsed. Carry on a conversation instead of delivering a practiced rehearsed mini-speech. Practice sounding natural by delivering your pitch to more people.

5. Dominate the Conversation. When the elevator stops and that dream client is stepping out, if they have not had a chance to respond, you haven’t accomplished anything. What if they wanted to ask questions to determine if they are interested?

6. Fail to Plan for the Next Step. Your goal should be to get a business card, permission to call or send an email, or maybe even schedule a time to meet for coffee. Speaking to 100 people has no value unless you have a next step in place.

7. Lead with an Introduction. Greeting someone with “Hi, my name is Sam, I work for ABC Brand…” is boring and predictable AND a sure way to get someone to stop listening.

How to Stand Out and Be Remembered – What TO Do: 1. Emotions Sell. What problem have you been able to solve for your customers? What emotions go with those problems? If your product saves busy mothers time, your pitch might start with, “Moms have a hard jo juggling everything, I love being able to take some of that stress off of them by….” Tapping into an emotion brings up memories or makes them immediately start thinking of someone you can help.

2. Dare to Be Different. Logical explanations make sense, but some version of it has probably been heard dozens of times. Instead, incorporate wha makes you stand out: your goals, target market, approach or somethin completely different.

3. Be Ready with Facts. You also want to be seen as credible and that you are grounded in reality. Include a few statistics or facts in your pitch.

4. Talk TO Them, Not AT Them. After giving your “short, succinct and persuasive sales pitch”, ask direct questions to get them involved. Find out how you can help them solve a problem or make a new connection themselves.

Susan Voiers – Executive Director TN Valley Business Network

!! r w e N utte r

C e Die er Glu r e d Fol Coat UV

Quality Printing 30+ Years 132 Jetplex Lane • Madison, AL 35758

256-774-3600

Printing • Direct Mail • Signs & Banners

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Full Color Printing Magazines Booklets and Manuals Inserts and Flyers Postcards Brochures Newsletters Note Pads Presentation Folders Labels Invoices

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Medical Forms Letterhead Envelopes Carbonless Forms (NCR) Banners Retractable Signs Magnets Address Validation List Sales Addressing/Variable Data Inserting

We Prepare • We Produce • We Deliver valleybusinesssource.com • 25

“Let me think about it.”

by Susan Voiers – Executive Director TN Valley Business Network

Anyone in sales has heard “Let me think about it” more times than they can count. On the surface, it sounds reasonable. When you make a purchase, you want to be sure it’s something you really want or need.

Why shouldn’t your prospect? But what’s really going on? Are they just politely ending the meeting, or do they sincerely want more time to make a decision? Some people really DO need time to think over the options and digest information. Someone new to sales may take the statement at face value and continue to call and email when making a sale is a low probability. A more seasoned sales rep, having heard this line again and again, may fail to follow up when the prospect really wanted more time and would have ended up purchasing. So how do you find out what’s really going on? The next time you hear that dreaded phrase, try one of these three options: 1. Silence is Golden: When you hear this objection, say NOTHING. That’s it. Just wait patiently. Silence creates a vacuum. Most people will feel the need to fill it. You will be amazed how many people, after a few seconds, will start filling in the void. Usually the client will begin to elaborate on why they need more time. They may offer the information that they need to look at the budget, talk to a partner, look at other bids, or they may state why they are not interested. You now have more information to work with.

26 • valleybusinesssource.com

2. Get a Commitment: Agree to give them time, but with limits. For example: ”I understand you may need some time to look over everything.

Let’s set a time to get back together and go over any questions you have.

Does next Tuesday at 10 or Thursday at 2 work better for you?” This approach is perfect for prospects who legitimately want to think it over. In a very non-threatening way, you have offered understanding by honoring their desire for more time. Make sure you set a specific time, not just a day. If they are interested, they will usually either confirm one of the times or offer an alternative. Agreeing to a specific time and day shows interest and commitment. If they don’t commit to either time or offer an alternative ask what works for them. If they cannot commit to a follow up, chances are they are not interested and your time would be better spent elsewhere.

3. Probe for Answers: Always empathize with the client first. Then ask key questions to determine if the objection is legitimate or a smokescreen. “I understand you need time to think about it, I would too. I want to make sure you have all of the information to base your decision on.

What questions do you have?” or “What will your final decision be based on?” These types of questions let the prospect know you are interested in meeting their needs and usually end in them opening up to you. If the objection is real, you now have a chance to address the issue.

SALES & MARKETING

GOING LOCAL Are You Missing:

• The 24% of internet using adults who do not use social media?

• The potential new customer using a search engine to find a product or service to solve their problem?

• The 50% of internet users who go directly to local directories to find products and services?

Many business owners believe that if they have their own website or Facebook page, they are completely represented on the web. Nothing could be further from the truth. For someone to go to your website or Facebook page, they have to know about you. In other words, if that is the extent of you web presence; you are marketing to your current customers or those who have already heard about you. Either they have done business with you before, have been referred by a friend, found your card or, if you use the internet in a more strategic way, have found you through a search engine.

How Local Directory Listings Bring in NEW Revenue: 1. If your business is a party venue, when a potential customer searches for “birthday parties in Huntsville, AL”, there’s a good chance, that if you are listed on local directories, your own website will show up, along with a long list of local directory links. Google, Bing and other search engines consider local listings to be important sources of information. Listing your company on local directories can help your own website appear higher in search results for certain terms. Think of it as a “referral”, if a local directory is “referring” you, search engines take you more seriously. The more quality web pages that you can get your site listed on or mentioned in, the more importance Google puts on your own site, raising you further to the top. Online business directories listings are an important element in a marketing strategy to make it easier for people to find your business on the internet.

2. Many internet users go directly to an online directory instead of using a search engine. If they are planning a birthday party, they may visit MyMemorableEvent.com, a targeted directory, listing local wedding and event professionals, or 256NOW, a site with other items of interest besides the directory itself. If you are not listed, but your competition is, guess who they will call or email...

3. Develop your brand. The more visible you are and the more places potential customers see your logo, the more you will be top of mind when they need your product or service. A listing on a local directory is an inexpen - sive way to increase your visibility.

More Reasons Your Business Should Be Using Local Directories • SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads (such as direct mail or print advertising) have a 1.7% close rate (Search Engine Journal) • 44% of online shoppers begin by using a search engine (Interconnected World: Shopping and Personal Finance) • 24% of adults who do use the internet are not active on social media (Pew Research Center) • 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results (Search Engine Journal) • 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine (Search Engine Journal) • 74% of internet users perform local searches (Kelsey Group) • 70-80% of users ignore the paid ads, focusing on the organic results (listings that appear on top because of SEO (Search Engine Journal) • 50% of all mobile searches are conducted in hopes of finding local results, and 61% of those searches result in a purchase (Search Engine Watch) • 33% of traffic (clicks) goes to the top listing in Google’s organic search (Chitika) • 50% of local searches do not occur on search engines, but on directories and apps (AT&T Small Business Technology Poll ) Many of the most successful businesses use SEO to support their business. This improved search engine ranking not only drives more local traffic to their site, it also makes the business seem more professional, legitimate and credible to local customers.

Susan Voiers – Executive Director – TN Valley Business Network valleybusinesssource.com • 27

RESOURCE GUIDE

FINANCIAL, LEGAL & INSURANCE Abria Queen Johnson Financial Advisor

Redstone Federal Credit Union | your trusted advisor Office: 256-327-1643 Mobile: 256-655-0224 1430 Weatherly Road Huntsville, AL 35803 www.redfcu.org

USAA United Lender Services Alabama Operations 256-701-0908 7027 Old Madison Pike, NW Huntsville AL 35806 www.ulsnow.com

Madison Chamber

256-­325­‐8317 130 Park Square LN Madison, AL 35758 madisonALchamber.com

Top 100 places to live and grow in the nation (Money Magazine).

TN Valley Business Network ACES Financial Group

Office: 256-355-2223 Mobile: 256-318-6121 2042 Beltline Rd SW Suite B102 Decatur AL 35601 david@acesfinancialgroup.com www.acesfinancial.com

Focusing on the needs of our clients, we develop, implement, and monitor investment strategies to help clients meet financial and lifestyle goals. Thinking “outside the box” we challenge conventional wisdom in investing and preserving wealth.

Wouldn’t you choose superior service and cost savings? As a home buyer &/or mortgage borrower, the selection of settlement service and title insurance provider is yours. Additional savings for USAA Members.

256-837-2300 www.interweavetech.net

Slash marketng costs, increase your business network and grow professionally. YOU choose the member benefits that work for you. Networking, professional development and collaborative marketng opportunites for local businesses and professionals.

On Deck IT Services

Windham Entertainment, Inc.

IT, WEB DESIGN & SOCIAL MEDIA Interweave Technologies

Office: 256-651-2420 9584 Madison Blvd Ste B Madison, AL 35758 www.ondeckitservices.com

Mason, Bearden & Diehl, Inc. 256-533-0806 MBDaccounting.com

State Farm Insurance – Lara Bryant Office: 256-852-8205 Fax: 256-852-8805 5180 Moores Mill Rd Huntsville, AL 35811 lara@larabryantagency.com www.larabryantagency.com

Multi-line insurance and financial products and services. We provide exceptional, added value service to all of our customers by consistently delivering the State Farm promise of being a “Good Neighbor”.

TN Valley Barter Exchange

256-705-3530 info@tnvalleybarterexchange.com www.tnvalleybarterexchange.com

Leverage your assets and save your cash.

Legal virtual tender spendable with other local members and the members of over 200 exchanges nationally.

28 • valleybusinesssource.com

256‐705-­3530 info@thevalleybusinessnetwork.com thevalleybusinessnetwork.com

Providing top-notch Managed Information Technology support, Voice over IP (VoIP), and WordPress Website Design and Management.

On Deck IT Services is your local technology experts!

threeDays

256-604-9614 threedaysllc.com Huntsville, AL 35806 sales@threedaysllc.com

NETWORKING, BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Atlanta Bread Company

256‐922‐2253 Catering@AtlantaBreadHuntsville.com AtlantaBreadHuntsville.com

256-489-8080 info@windhamentertainment.com windhamentertainment.com

Windham Entertainment is your complete resource for live entertainment for corporate or private events, and promotional endeavors in print, radio and film. WE have it all!

Von Braun Center

256-­551‐2237 marketng@vonbrauncenter.com www.vonbrauncenter.com 700 Monroe Street Huntsville, AL 35801 The “One-­Stop Shop” For All of Your Event Needs!

Featuring over 170,000 square feet of multi-purpose meeting space, a team of experienced professionals and many in-­house services including Food and Beverage, Exhibitor Services, and Audio Visual.

RESOURCE GUIDE

OPERATIONS & BUSINESS PRACTICES GREEN 3 WAYS - Total Wellness Concept

256-­656-­0065 green3ways@gmail.com www.green3ways.myebookpage.com

Protect yourself, family & pets while spending less for more effectve, non-­ toxic, environmentally friendly products.

Live a healthier debt-­free life style. *Go Green**Save Green**Make Green*

Floor Coverings International

Thom Rigsby Coaching

ColorXpress

threeDays

EmbroidMe

256-513-9606 ThomRigsby.com

256-604-9614 sales@threedaysllc.com threedaysllc.com

Need to increase efficiency, improve industry technology or automate data collection and management? Let threeDays understand your challenges and ideas so we can go create your custom software solution.

Valley Cleaning Service

256-777-9989 Valleycleaning44@gmail.com myvalleycleaning.com

Lifestyle Health & Wellness Center 256-382-5821 3740 Hwy 53, Suite Z Huntsville, AL 35806 Lifestylehealthandwellness.com

Office – Home – Church Our business is making yours shine.

A full service janitorial company with an outstanding reputation for quality and commitment. Servicing small offices, large commercial facilities and everything in-between.

WIN Home Inspection

256-777-2882 WINHomeInspectionMadison.com

SALES & MARKETING 256Now

Experiencing a Healthier You! Renew, Revive, Rejuvenate the New You

256-705-3530 info@256NOW.com 256now.com

931-205-3269 monica@organize2clean.com organize2clean.com

256-203-2105 russ.hunter@schooleymitchell.com www.schooleymitchell.com/rhunter

SEL & Associates

$10.00 OFF First Embroidery Order of $100.00 or More If you want to get your GAME on, you have to get your NAME on! Embroidery, garment print and promotional products. Nike, Under Armour, Columbia & Sport Tek apparel, corporate apparel, teams & personal items.

Face To Face Marketing, LLC

We provide clear, focused marketing, and PR in a timely and measurable manner. Excellent and effective business development strategies to promote the goals and mission of your organization.

Lifestyle Strategies

256-797-8968 crb@lifestylestrategies.info lifestylestrategies.info

Minuteman Press

256-859-6161 www.huntsville.minutemanpress.com

threeDays

256-604-9614 sales@threedaysllc.com threedaysllc.com

Totally Infused Digital Marketing 256-213-1655 totallyinfused.com

Organize2Clean

Schooley Mitchell

256-309-0241 2526 C Danville Road SW Decatur, Al 35603 kerrie@embroidme-decatural.com www.embroidme-decatural.com

256-479-6954 PO Box 63, Madison, AL FaceToFace.vmorris@gmail.com

Office: 256-­650-­1200 2506-­B 5th Street Huntsville, AL 35805 beth.beady@floorcoveringsinternational.com huntsville.floorcoveringsinternational.com

Floor Coverings International of Huntsville is an in-­home boutique service bringing the floor store to your door. Call for your no charge, no obligation consultation.

256-774-3600 YourXpress.com

Be FOUND! Local directory, blog hub and events calendar. Keep up to date with what’s going on in the Valley, raise your own SEO rankings and social media visibility.

256-325-9809 steven@stevenlevyassociates.com stevenlevyassociates.com

valleybusinesssource.com • 29

BUSINESS NETWORKING & EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” The ability to network is one of the most crucial skills for entrepreneurs and sales and marketing professionals to develop. It provides a low-cost way to develop new business based on word of mouth advertising and warm introductions. No matter what category your business falls into or your position with your company there are networking and educational opportunities around the Valley for you.

TN Valley Business Network: tnvalleybusinessnetwork.com/calendar Huntsville Madison County Builder’s Association: buildersassn.org The Greater Morgan County Builder’s Association: gmcba.org Athens-Limestone Homebuilders Association: athensalabamahomebuilders.com Apartment Association of North Alabama: www.aanahq.org Huntsville Madison County Hospitality Association: huntsvillehospitality.org Nexxus Energy: nexusenergycenter.org/events Hot Coffee: opentechcoffee.com/meetup Womens Business Center of North Alabama: wbcna.org/calendar UAH - Small Business Development Center: uah.edu/sbdc/events Decatur-Morgan County Entreprenuer Center: alabamaincubator.com Chamber of Commers of Huntsville/Madison County: cm.hsvchamber.org/events Madison Chamber of Commerce: madisonalchamber.chambermaster.com/events/calendar Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce: tools.dcc.org/events Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce: tourathens.com/news-events/calendar

30 • valleybusinesssource.com

Reap the Benefits (ROI) of Healthy Employees If you pay close attention to your bottom line, going beyond the required health care costs to invest in your employees’ health might seem frivolous.

But, if you know where to apply it, a little investment can go a long way.

The Cost of Poor Health When employees are out of the office, others have to pick up the slack. It can cause missed deadlines and disrupt group projects.

Productivity is sacrificed. You want your business to run smoothly.

Improving employees’ health is the first step toward that goal.

&

Lifestyle Health Wellness Center

Experiencing a Healthier You Renew, Revive, Rejuvinate, the New You! We invite you to visit our facility where professionalism, relaxation and wellness come naturally. Our friendly and caring staff is eager to serve you and help make your visit comfortable and memorable. Our Licensed Massage Therapists are here for you, so when life seems to get the best of you, stop by for a deeply relaxing and stress-relieving therapeutic massage.

Our other amazing services are: • Ion Cleanse Foot Detox • Colon Hydrotherapy • Medicupping Massage • Body Wraps/Detox • Infrared Solo Sauna • Reflexology

Also, come in and enjoy our infrared

BIO MAT!

Choose 15, 30 or 60 minutes of

TOTAL RELAXATION along with other health and wellness benefits.

Lifestyle Health & Wellness Center 3740 Hwy. 53, Ste Z • Huntsville, AL 35806

256-382-5821 Lifestylehealthandwellness.com

Benefits of Healthier Employees Cost Savings: Yes, providing additional health benefits is an investment, but in the long run it pays off. Sick leave cost the U.S. economy a few hundred billion each year. An employee wellness program or providing incentives to stay healthy can offset the costs to your business.

Increased Productivity: Imagine how much more productive your business would be if everyone was there. According to data, 43% of people who participate in wellness programs take fewer sick days. As an additional benefit, employees tend to be happier at work when they have access to wellness options.

Laser Focus: Fighting to power through the flu or just not feeling well makes it hard to focus on work. Just because an employee is there physically, doesn’t mean they are 100%.

Healthier, happier employees are better able to focus on tasks.

Increased Retention: Do employees value a company more than they feel the company values them? Think about it, wouldn’t you be more willing to stay in a job if you felt like your employer took an interest in your well-being?

Enhanced Company Image: It’s important to consider the effect of healthy employees on your company’s image and influence in the community. By supporting the wellness of your employees, you are building your reputation as an organization that supports its workforce. You will likely be seen as a welcome “neighbor” and earn the support of the community.

Contact Lifestyles Health & Wellness for your employee wellness program needs.