I recently met with one of my clients, Budget Home & Office Cleaning.  The company is in a tough industry, working in a difficult environment given today's economic woes for the demographic they serve.  Through much hard work, smart marketing (much of it Social Media) and great leadership, they have continued to grow year after year.   We were recently discussing what kind of Key Performance Indicators they can use as predictors to understand where their business is headed and how healthy it is.  And one of the most interesting ones we discussed was the "laughter factor."  Will (the owner's son and future successor) explained it as follows:

"When the crews are getting ready for their day, when everyone is running around putting supplies and equipment in our team vehicles, there's a new energy in the air.  There's a higher sense of camaraderie & happiness, there's joking around, there's well - frankly, a lot of laughter!" 

We both paused for a moment and then talked about how that "whistle when you work" attitude builds on itself.  It becomes self-fulfilling and ultimately leads to indicating how happy the employees are - which in turn impacts productivity and retention, customer-service and the customer's experience.  

Yes, employee surveys are important tools to gauge employee loyalty & engagement.  Yes, performance evaluations are critical.  But for a quick pulse & checkpoint - consider your happiness factor, with the amount of laughter coming from you teams as a clear indicator of your company's future health!

 
If you haven’t yet heard the term employee engagement, it’s a pretty sure bet you will soon.  The term refers to how closely aligned your employees feel to your company – how emotionally attached they are to the company, the brand and their fellow employees. The closer they feel, the happier their work experience – which in turn reduces employee absenteeism, increases loyalty, promotes your brand and improves overall productivity.  The science to back the concept up is impressive and the bottom line impact to companies is even more so.  To see how your engaged your employees are, consider the following engagement factors:

• Employee perception of job importance:  An employee’s feelings of worth and how their role ties to the overall success of company
• Clarity of job expectation:   Having clarity of purpose as relates to the employee’s role, and having the tools & skills to accomplish what is asked of him/her supports an employees' ability to succeed
• Ongoing, relevant feedback:  It is not enough to have annual performance appraisals; engaged employees receive ongoing, specific feedback as to how they are doing
• Opportunity for advancement:  In Dan Pink's book, Drive, the author talks about how important working toward mastery is in motivating people.  Employees want to stretch and grow, and having opportunities in your company for advancement will provide them the opportunity to grow and develop themselves
• Relationships matter:  Employees are human beings first.  As such, positive, productive relations that are built on mutual trust and support enable them to perform optimally and towards common goals
• Values & leadership:  When their work value system is in line with their personal value system, and that system is supported, encouraged and nurtured by company leadership, employees are motivated from within.
• Communications:   Just as family members care about what is going on within the family, engaged employees are more connected when they are aware of company direction, successes and wins – both large and small. 
• Recognition & reward:   A good rewards & incentive program is not only self-funded, but is aligned to company goals, is attainable (with stretch goals), is within the power of the employees to influence outcome and is built on the company’s value system.  If any of these elements are missing there is the potential for more damage than if no reward system were put in place. 

Implement any of the above and you’re well on your way to furthering your employee engagement.  You’ll soon be on your way to having employees who are in flow state – but that’s for another posting.

In the meantime, please share your thoughts & comments – what are you doing to keep your employees engaged?  Where have you felt most engaged as an employee & why?

 
When I was a student in college learning music theory & composition, one of the techniques our professors used was to teach us all the rules of composition & music theory before we could break them.  We would then better understand the full palette of musical techniques to combine.   One of the courses that was especially interesting to me was "Counterpoint & Fugue."  During this course we would be given part of a music line, around which we would build a short 4 -piece harmony.  We were specifically told to not play the tune we were writing, and would instead listen to it for the first time when we submitted it to our professor.  Following the basic rules gave great results,  and ignoring all the rules was a fast track to failure.  By following this technique we had another building block under our belts which formed the foundation for developing our own unique styles.

This technique applies to business - know the rules of business, the lessons learned through the efforts of others is tremendously beneficial.  But learning from the mistakes of others is also valuable - sometimes failures prove to be even greater lessons.  So for this post, I'd like to share two references around the topic of failure in business - How the Mighty Fall, by Jim Collins (author of the more famously referred to Good to Great), and The Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful Executives (by Forbes.com contributor Eric Jackson)

Both articles provide wonderful examples of how not to run your company, and just like my old professor, Leonard Klein taught me - learn from the good & the bad, and along the way, you'll develop your own unique and winning style!

New Jersey Business owners - want to learn more about creating great companies?  Join us, along with other business owners January 16th at our annual Business Summit "Turbo Charge Your 2012." 

We're happy to present you with the seventh installment in our Next Level Leadership Series, where we speak with TAB members about the challenges small business owners face in today's world. Through this series of interviews, we discover how various small business owners have risen above and beyond to become our Next Level Leaders.

This week we present Rich Rossiello Sr., founder and owner of The Perfect Shift in Henryville, PA. For the Rossiellos, home is truly where the heart (of the business) is: the business began in the family's garage back in 1990, before growing to a separate shop that sells transmission parts, torque converters, overhaul kits and much more, both storefront and online. Rich Jr. would come home and help out at the shop after school, and more than 20 years later, continues his passion for the family business, working side by side with his father at The Perfect Shift.

When was The Perfect Shift founded? Did you start the business, or was it someone in your family?

1990. It was me that started it. I actually started it out of my garage, started buying torque converters from other manufacturers, and eventually we bought the equipment and started manufacturing our own.

Who in your family is involved at the shop? How long have they been part of your work team?

We’re a family business. My son works here, [laughs] since about 1990 also. He would work after school. He’s been with me the whole time.

What roles does he play?

My son [Rich Jr.] answers the telephones. People get us confused [on the phone]; they say we sound alike. We basically do everything. He works in the back with the guys, welds, and works in the rebuilding process. He’s hands-on with most of the things in the back.

What is one of the biggest challenges that you face when your family is working with you in your business?

Because you’re with each other all day, you tend to have less time together for family functions.

And he’s a good kid. If I need work done around the house, he’ll always help.

What are some of [is one] of the greatest benefits?

Just the fact that [Rich Jr. is] so hands-on, and so conscientious. When the phone rings, people want to talk to him because he’s so knowledgeable, so involved in the business. His concern is in the business: he’s always looking for something to improve, to make better.

Will you keep the business in the family when you retire?

I’m hoping that he takes it over, when the time comes. Right now, it seems that way but you never know what’s going to happen.

Does work come up at the kitchen table?

In some degree, it does come up. We do try to leave it out. I have a brother who is also in the automotive business, so in some way or another we wind up talking about cars.

What is your favorite part of being a member of The Alternative Board?

I like getting with other owners and discussing the problems together. Even though we may not be in the same field, we can still get ideas for our different problems.

We're happy to bring you the fifth interview in our Next Level Leadership Series, where we speak with industry leaders about different issues small businesses face. Here, we explore the ways various TAB members have risen to challenges to prove themselves as Next Level Leaders.

This week we present Ron Fischer, President of Redemption Processing Representatives, Inc. RPR uses its extensive knowledge of the coupon industry to enhance the effectiveness of the coupon process for its clients, providing manufacturing, retailer and consulting services. Ron generously shared his story, from how he came to serve such a niche market to how RPR has weathered changes and challenges over the last 17 years.

When was RPR (Redemption Processing Representatives, Inc.) founded?

June 1994.

Did you set out with a clear definition of what your market would be?

Well, I came from a manufacturing background, working for Unilever. [Unilever] went through a reorganization. . . While I had a new management position, I really enjoyed managing the coupon operations, and I thought, “I could do this myself.” I was saving them millions of dollars.

When I walked away, I had a few things in my pocket. A few of my colleagues knew I was leaving. But I had never been an entrepreneur before. I was 48 when I walked away.

I rolled with the punches – I knew I could do this in the industry, and carved out the business as I went along.

You provide manufacturer, retailer and consulting services. Did you begin serving all of these markets, or did you begin with just one?

I started with the manufacturers. One of the things I was very successful with at Unilever was coupon deduction. (Large retailers will deduct non payment back from  the retailer invoice). So I introduced that Coupon Deduction Mangagement services. My plan was to build my clientele, then sell the business to a collection company.

One of the major manufacturer vendors didn’t like my approach and I got black balled. They revised their third party agreement which would not allow me compete with the industry.

I started this service with Ocean Spray in 1996. They left in 2000 to try another vendor and came back to RPR in 2004. We picked up Kimberley Clark in 2000 and worked with them for seven years. Once Kimberley Clark changed management, we lost the agreement.

Then we started in consulting primarily to introduce electronic processing. In 1999 I started with Cunningham Electronics which ended in early 2001. In 2002 with a start up company that didn’t make it, then in 2004 with First Data Corp. The coupon industry is regulated by voluntary recommended guidelines. Long-standing vendors would lose business if electronic processing were put in place. While the First Data test successful and approved by several major CPG companies, they were not able to introduce it as a revenue producing department. In 2006, we got into the retail industry by provide coupon processing.

Where does RPR focus the majority of its services?

Majority is in the retailers. We have thousands of retailers, from Mom and Pop places to chains with up to 300 stores. Sometimes a chain will submit under the corporate chain, sometimes under the store.

I was very proud to set up a very ethical process. [We’re] not trying to milk the industry, not passing any  fees back to retailers. Just be straightforward. [We’re] trying to grow, to be successful, but it’s a very small revenue stream we work off of.

How have you developed your clientele in this rather niche market? (Networking, advertising, marketing, etc.)

I guess it’s mostly through networking. We belong to state associations. Three states recommend their retailers use our program. We work nation-wide.

I do selling. [Some of our business] is based on the Web site. It’s been slow growth. We’re working on bringing in larger retailers.

Anything else special you would like to share on working in a niche market?

Because I started when I was so young [laughs], when I worked with Unilever, the manufacturers really controlled the industry.

I’m a sole survivor, I really have extensive knowledge of the industry. I was an expert witness in a lawsuit case. I really enjoy what I do; really enjoy the process. I’d like to shake up the industry. I think the industry really needs some rules and regulations. I’m Chairman of the Guidelines Committee [of the Association of Coupon Professionals].

I was a dyslexic child, went to five high schools in four years, and learned to overcome failure. I have good common sense. I enjoy what I do; it’s so important – you spend so much of your time at work. I have a small, nice group of people working for me. We’re trying to improve the mousetrap so that everybody is successful.

What do you like most about The Alternative Board and/or personal coaching you get?

They’re a great way to get some guidance. Sometimes there are things that you should be doing, but you forget to do them.

[I like] the overall structure: sharing your ideas with others, getting guidance from non-competitors. I get overwhelmed with personal life and business . . . [TAB is] a good way to set goals, move along and carve out areas you’d like to work on.

Welcome to the fourth installment of our Next Level Leadership Series, wherein we speak with TAB members about the challenges each small business owner faces in the contemporary business world. Through this series of interviews, we find how business owners have risen above and beyond to become Next Level Leaders.

This week we spoke with Will Truex, manager of Marketing, Advertising and Sales at Budget Home and Office Cleaning. Will kindly shared his experiences with social media work: from introducing Budget Home and Office Cleaning to outlets like LinkedIn and Flickr to running promotional campaigns on Twitter.

When was Budget Home and Office Cleaning founded?

We were founded in 1995. [My parents] started it, just the two of them, and then it exploded from there.

When did you start delving into social media? (I.e., how long have you been participating in social media?)

We weren’t doing anything with social media [before I took over the role]. We were doing a Facebook page that was basically a graveyard, wasn’t updated at all.

I started social media work when I started [full-time] with the company, last August. Social media was my only role, and as I advanced in the company and learned more from day to day, I got more responsibilities.

I started a Twitter account, looking into Google.

What social media outlets does Budget Home and Office Cleaning participate in? (E.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blog, etc.)

Presently we have two Twitter accounts (residential and commercial); LinkedIn (my personal account); a Facebook fan page; a YouTube account; a Flickr account; and we have a blog (Google blogger).

I noticed you have Twitter updates on the Budget Home and Office Cleaning blog. How does that work?

By experimenting with blog layouts, I could incorporate Twitter feed, and the blog updates itself whenever I do a tweet. [The blog is updated] almost every single day.

How has Budget Home and Office Cleaning founds its voice online? That is, do you have corporate guidelines to follow while participating in social media, or do you trust your personal judgment?

Typically with Twitter accounts, if there’s an issue I am personally one way about, I do not include that in Budget Residential and Office account. I do my tweets impartially. If there’s an issue I care about, I generate a general statement but I won’t go either way. I’ll try and give both sides of the issue.

Never use profanity. I try to lighten the heavy subjects, et cetera.

Have you run any special promotions or marketing campaigns through social media?

I did run a contest that we ran on Twitter. I got the idea from another business. I would provide a code on Twitter at random time of the day. A customer could come across the code and get a discount off cleaning. I did [that promotion] early on in our social media campaign.

From 9 am to 2 pm, I like to schedule Tweets every hour. I use a platform where I can send it to multiple accounts (HootSuite). I do an article, and then an advertisement. I constantly give news and advertisements. Advertisements are usually links towards directly ways you can save money: coupons, et cetera.

I’ve gotten a good response. People find you on Twitter. I do a lot on green cleaning tips. One site, paper.li, featured one of my coupons.

Do you consider the promotions successful? How do you gauge success in social media?

Specifically with HootSuite, I can monitor who is looking at what. HootSuite has Google Analytics with Twitter. [There’s a] click summary – it gives you a report: who’s clicking what, in what region, what’s popular. Recently, we got a lot of clicks directly on Facebook and Twitter.

The way I gauge Twitter and other social media is traffic to our website, via Google Analytics. I also look at mentions, like mentions on Twitter. There’s a group of people, you develop relationships with people with similar interests. [There are] retweets on all the feeds I follow, that I find pertinent. You may not see a huge return, or lots of referrals, but the more people talk about you, the more you get known, the more it helps. You become so ubiquitous, you can’t be ignored – but you’re not in everyone’s face.

We were trying other methods – cold calls, door knockers, mass emails – none of them work like they used to. People want to see what a company has to offer on their own time.

[Our marketing] is all online and word of mouth. It works really, really well. The only cost is time. You need the time to update. If you don’t update, no one cares and your name disintegrates.

Businesses often cite social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter as a great place to hear, and respond timely to, customer complaints. Has participating in social media enabled you to engage more with customers? If so, how?

We’re very small, so it doesn’t happen very often. Typically it’s direct responses via email.

Our demographic is a different generation. Occasionally you’ll get a younger person [who is] more tech savvy.

Any interesting social media stories you can share with us?

When I started doing [our social media work], I got a little gun shy. I had correspondence with one woman who thought I was a spammer. I used to search for cleaning questions on Twitter, and I’d answer them. I wasn’t trying to sell anything, just offer advice.

One woman didn’t know who I was and thought I was trying to spam her. I told her I wasn’t trying to spam her, just help. If you don’t like free help, I don’t know what to do for you.

One time I made a mistake in giving advice. The person told me, I admitted my mistake, and told the truth. Once you put it out there, it’s out there – it will be there till we’re all dead. So you have to be careful what you say.

What do you like most about The Alternative Board and/or personal coaching you get?

TAB – my favorite part with Marcy and TAB is that I get unbiased input and different angles to approaching problems. I have different people from different professions, who think differently, who offer advice and hold you accountable. There’s accountability.

TAB is like a huge ocean where you can pull all these resources. It makes me be more experienced without having to go through all the years of experience. I get both real life experiences on my part, and I can learn from other people’s triumphs and struggles. TAB makes you wise beyond your years.

Welcome to the second installment of our Next Level Leadership series! Here, we interview small to mid-size business leaders about certain areas in which they have proven themselves to be exceptionally successful.

Next in our series is TAB member Mark Beck, founder of The Boulevard Group. Mark was kind enough to spend time to share some of his experiences in local relationship building. The Boulevard Group is a firm that provides Web site design, development and marketing services.

When was The Boulevard Group founded?

My wife and I founded the company in 2000. We’ve been in business for 11 years, with the vast majority of our clients from the New York City/Philadelphia geographic area.

We started pairing with local businesses back in 2003. I’m a programmer, not a designer. We brought in a graphic designer on an outsource basis. The graphic designer had the exact opposite problem I did: he did design work, not programming. From then on we would refer business to each other.

From that relationship, the graphic designer has referred The Boulevard Group to other companies over the years. Close to 30 percent of our business comes from partner referrals.

How do you approach other local businesses? Has building relationships with them been a natural part of doing business, or have you actively worked to build a strong local network?

When I go to networking events, I look for people, like local printers and PC repair companies, who have the same client base, but not those who provide competing services.

In Long Valley, I partner with Eric Frenchman, an online marketing guru. It’s a good example of how we both target the same types of companies, but our businesses are not competitive at all. We refer potential partners to each other.

What do you consider the most important aspect of developing relationships with other businesses?

Primarily, I look at a person’s experience and examples of work that they’ve done. Whenever possible I would like to be the person referring another to a potential partner first, instead of being the one to ask for business.

When we have work referred to us, we have to keep two important things in mind:

First, we have to make the referring partner look as good as possible. Second, we have to keep the partner in the loop. Always let them know what’s going on: whether it’s good or bad, whether it’s something we’re doing or something the client is doing, we want to make sure there are no surprises on their end.

I noticed you have a page on your Web site dedicated to “Business Resources”. Is this part of building relationships with other local businesses?

Companies listed on the page are a combination of partners with whom we do work and others who are part of my local BNI networking group.

How has working with other local businesses benefited The Boulevard Group, outside of the financial reward?

In addition to the financial reward, having good relationships with other local businesses makes the sales cycle a whole lot shorter. Partner clients have already been sold on a Web site, and are now looking to put the pieces together to get the project going.

In some cases, when we’re doing work with a partner, The Boulevard Group works in the background and the client doesn’t know we exist. Sometimes we work face to face with the end client. We can get out, meet new people, and see who they use as resources. We see if The Boulevard Group can help them work with other businesses.

What is your favorite aspect of being a member of The Alternative Board?

It’s tremendously beneficial to have a new set of eyes looking in on the business. We can be so engulfed in the day-to-day operations that we don’t take the time to look at the big picture.  It’s so helpful to have board members coming in with a different set of eyes – new perspectives have helped the business get along, keep it going.

Ask any small business owner one of the most important aspects of her business, and she will say, “Customer service.” Unfortunately, in the busy midst of bills, taxes and employee issues, quality service can get left behind. What follows are a few helpful tips – or simple refreshers – on how you can ensure quality customer service, every day.

1. Under promise, over deliver.

Never promise your customers more than you know you can deliver. It’s always better to exceed expectations than to leave customers disappointed.

2. Don’t keep them waiting.

If you’re on the phone with a customer, don’t keep them on hold for more than 30 seconds or so. If they’ll need to be on hold for a while, offer to call them back as soon as you resolve the issue.

3. “Thank you” goes a long way.

Remember to always thank your customer for calling, even if it’s a complaint call. In fact, especially if it’s a complaint call: if he or she hadn’t called you, you never would have had the opportunity to turn the problem into a productive solution.

4. Ask for feedback.

Ask customers often, if not every time, if there is anything you can do to make their experience with your business even better. They always appreciate the question. Sometimes you will get priceless feedback that changes the way you do business.

5. Be conscious of your email tone.

When communicating with customers via email, keep in mind that your tone may not be perceived the way you intended. A quick “yes” or “no” on your part may not effectively convey a complete answer, and may be taken as short. Take a few moments to fully explain your message.

6. Go the extra mile – it only takes a minute or two.

Try following up with a phone call after corresponding with a customer via email. Or send a handwritten thank you card.

7. Listen beyond the words.

Listen closely to what your customers say to you, using not just their words, but also their body language. Customers offer clues about how they would like to be served, even though they might not be communicating verbally.

8. Train your front line well.

How can you be sure your customers receive quality service when you're not around to deliver it? Make sure your employees have gone through proper training. It doesn't have to be expensive: check out TAB's great tip on making customer service training videos.

What are some of your favorite ways to provide great customer service? Share them with us here!

Small business success relies much on creative thinking: from developing new leads to solving cash flow issues to mediating employee conflicts, small business owners must rely on creative solutions to various challenges. There is no formula to creative thinking, but the process essentially involves changing your perspective and seeing things from a different angle.

We all have a natural capacity for creative thinking, but we rarely challenge our day-to-day perceptions and thus continually stifle the opportunity to think creatively. Instead of trying to find inspiration for creative solutions to small business concerns, try removing a few mental blocks that inhibit your natural creative abilities. You don’t need to find creativity from outside sources; you simply need to let yours out of its proverbial box.

Accept Your Creativity

Human beings are creative creatures. It’s just that some of us are more inclined to accept our creative capacity than others. If you tell yourself that you are not creative, it becomes your truth. If you acknowledge that you have inherent creative abilities, you begin to see the world in a different way. (And it’s the first step in thinking differently!)

Stop Following Rules

Consider creative thinking as a positively destructive force. When you think creatively, you break rules others have set before you. Before accepting rules, ask “why” or “why not”. Sometimes you will find a deeper understanding for a rule’s necessity; other times you will realize that the rule is arbitrary, and you can find a solution that does not follow the same path.

Being Wrong Isn’t Wrong

Mistakes are a natural function of growth and success. To think creatively is to understand you will make mistakes along the way. Be comfortable with making mistakes: you have to be wrong many times before you know what is right. You must explore and experience your ideas before you can learn from your mistakes.

More Than One Right Answer

Often we find ourselves searching for the one correct answer to a particular problem or question. This approach impedes the creative thinking process: many issues are ambiguous and cannot be answered in only one way. There are often more than one right answer to our problems, and the second or third or fourth things we think of may be better than the first.

Try reframing the issue in several different ways. You’ll prompt several different answers and reward yourself with creative solutions to your challenges.