National Small Business Week is Officially OPEN! - President Barack Obama

Date: May 4, 2015

The White House
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/05/02/presidential-proclamation-national-small-business-week-2015


Here are remarks from the President:

Presidential Proclamation -- National Small Business Week, 2015

NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK, 2015

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

America's small businesses are the backbone of our economy, employing half of our country's private sector workforce and creating nearly two out of every three new jobs in our country. Representing the quintessential American ideals of hard work and ingenuity, small businesses -- from startups to mom-and-pop shops -- are crucial to our national prosperity and economic security. During National Small Business Week, we recommit to advancing these vital enterprises, and we celebrate their contributions to our collective American story.

From day one, my Administration has made supporting our Nation's small businesses a priority. We have fought to ensure our tax code reflects our values and encourages growth, and part of that effort includes making sure those who take risks and do the hard work of turning a good idea into a great business get a fair deal. That is why I have signed into law 18 different tax cuts for small businesses, which are helping them thrive in the 21st-century economy. By investing in our infrastructure, expanding access to credit, and assisting entrepreneurs as they start out and scale up, we are continuing to bolster America's small business community.

My Administration is committed to ensuring small businesses have the tools, resources, and expertise they need to succeed. Last year, we built on the success of my QuickPay initiative -- which has already generated over $1 billion in cost savings for small businesses -- by launching SupplierPay, a new partnership with the private sector to strengthen small businesses by increasing their working capital. The Affordable Care Act is working to expand insurance coverage, reduce health care costs, and improve the quality of care -- all of which help small businesses and our economy. Additionally, the law allows small businesses access to SHOP, a competitive marketplace where they can look for coverage that meets their needs and where they cannot be charged more for operating in blue-collar industries, employing women, or insuring people with pre-existing conditions. We are also focused on injecting capital into emerging, entrepreneurial communities, supporting ventures operated by women, veterans, and underserved populations. And we continue to work to open new markets for small exporters because we know trade promotion bolsters our small businesses and their employees.

Our small businesses represent what is best about our Nation -- the idea that with determination and responsibility, anyone can build a better life for themselves and their loved ones. For more than two centuries, American innovation has sparked ideas that have changed our lives and the course of our history for the better. This week, we recognize the role small businesses play as pillars of our communities and engines of our growing economy, and we rededicate ourselves to fostering the entrepreneurial spirit that has forged the strongest economy the world has ever known.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 4 through May 8, 2015, as National Small Business Week. I call upon all Americans to recognize the contributions of small businesses to the competitiveness of the American economy with appropriate programs and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth.

BARACK OBAMA

Small Business Deserves Big Dollars!

By: Stan Washington
Date: April 15, 2015

Like excited eagles, small business owners start out soaring but soon become cynical slugs if they don't have the correct foundation.

Understand who you are. Your brand is extremely important. People will get to know you and your product or service. If they are not satisfied, make adjustments to help your customer.

Listen to your audience. People are screaming about what they need all the time. Listen to them and get excited about them instead of being the selfish business owner who only spouts quotes about their stuff.

Use Technology. Social media is social media. Technology for business means gathering metrics to understand how well your business is doing so you can make adjustments. Just because you have a lot of "likes" or "followers" doesn't mean you are doing the right thing to address their need. 

Use a simple CRM like Honor Services Office or a more complex one like Salesforce to keep track of your customers needs. Leverage a tool that can send bills in emails. Market to your customer base with email marketing on a semi-regular basis that is not noisy. Learn marketing techniques that work and apply them. Identify sales techniques that enable you to help people instead of being pushy! Come join us and find out how to put your business on track!

WAYS TO EMPOWER MY BUSINESS SATURDAY APRIL 18, 2015 

CHICAGO STATE LIBRARY AUDITORIUM

Women Business Owners Ask Great Questions

By: Stan Washington

Date: March 03, 2015

"But how do I build my audience?' one aspiring entrepreneur asked me. Mary at www.amtenterprisesinc.org is in rapid growth mode and she wants to take her concept to a very large audience. She wants to meet new potential clients and grow her business but has a few questions about building the audience.

How do I build my audience? How do you keep track of all these people? What's the right amount of time for follow up? Should I buy an expensive ad? Many questions like these were discussed. Here is what I suggest.

Deliberately Build Your Audience. Get out of your house and meet people. There are no deals in your house. Identify your target market and get out and meet them. Shake their hand and shake their baby's hand. Stop hiding behind the comforts of your home if you have a home based business. Meet the people and then go back home and provide the service they need.

Don't Rush. A quality audience is better than a large audience of strangers who could care less if you succeed or fail. Meet people and document where you met them in Honor Services Office or other CRM. Build your relationship with your audience and treat them with "Personal Engagement." 

Follow Up. I try to follow up that day, but if at all possible following up within twenty four hours is acceptable. I personally like to send an email after I step out of the meeting. This is important to me because quite honestly I would forget!

By deliberately taking your time, building your audience, and following up, you can purposefully grow the right type of audience who will remain loyal. 

Why Better Note Taking Builds Your Business

When we asked what is the most important thing a business owner should be doing right now in our featured series earlier this year, we got a great answer... BUILD RELATIONSHIPS!

You are in the business to grow your sales. Your customers want to me recognized with that special touch.  Prospects love when you remember them and when you customize your product or service to meet their needs.

Here are a few words of advice:

Dream Big Act Small
Yes we would all like to start a company that instantly takes off and makes billions within 24 hours, but until you get there, treat every customer as a precious commodity. Actually you should figure to a way to make your customers feel special all the time.

Make them feel special and they will enjoy your service and refer you.

Write a Note and Act on it!
There is nothing better than a company with outstanding followup. Followup within 24 hours and be excited about each and every prospect. Write notes within Honor Services Office and set a reminder to contact this prospect.

Remain Organized
Every business has snafu's but you want to keep these to a minimum. When your prospect is asking for specific information, keep copious notes to fulfill their need.

Why Honor Services Office CRM Tool Keeps Contacts

We spoke to successful small business owners and found that the more they kept in touch with their clients and potential clients the more they grew their business.

We built a Prospect Management system that keeps vital information about everyone you deal with regularly.  No more lost information.

Keep Vital Notes

Each contact has a place to keep general comments, Phone comments, Email comments and more.  No more faulty memory.

Simply click on "Potential Client" or "Client" and click the "Add New" button to enter your new client or potential client.

Scroll down and you will see where you can enter notes, create plans, document their interest level and whether you have contacted this person.  You can also set a reminder date to contact them next.

List Upload
You can upload a list of people you wish to keep in contact with.  This way you don't have to worry about doing this one at a time if you are dealing with a large group of people.

FEATURED - Doug Thorpe (Founder and Managing Partner)

By: Stan Washington
Date: January 05, 2015

Tiny Interview - Doug Thorpe, Founder and Managing Partner at Headway Exec, LLC.

Stan: Doug please tell me about yourself and your services.

Doug: The Headway Executive Coaching Group is dedicated to C-Suite, senior executives, high potential managers/leaders, and first-time owners or managers. Our team is a national group of seasoned leaders and management experts with proven records of success in all sectors. We focus on leadership development and team building. Our programs have been used by over 1,000 leaders nationwide.

Stan: What advice would you give business owners?

Doug:  Identify the three key elements that make your business unique, qualified, and necessary for your customers/clients. 


Doug can be reached at: 
http://www.headwayexec.com/about-us/doug-thorpe/
doug@dougthorpe.com
832-789-9567

Recent blog post: http://www.realdougthorpe.com/

FEATURED - Evie Burke (Business Coach - Professional Business Relationship Expert)

By: Stan Washington

Tiny Interview - Evie Burke, Business Coach - Professional Business Relationship Expert at One Insight Closer.

Stan: Evie please tell me about yourself and your services.

Evie: I help "work from home" entrepreneur's create business relationships that result in more business. 

Stan: What advice would you give business owners?

Evie: There are lots of ways to arrive at the same result in business and in life. However, entrepreneurs often try to pour themselves into "solutions" that doesn't work for them - there is no one size fits all in business. Determine what does and doesn't work for you and move forward from there AND adjust as often as needed!  


Evie can be reached at: One Insight Closer, Inc

Office: 630.447.0566

Find your insights to success.

Recent blog post: Looking away

FEATURED - Debra A. Matthews (Premier Resume Writer / Coach)

By: Stan Washington

Tiny Interview - Debra Ann Matthews  Founder / Career Coach, Resume Writer Mock Interview and Development Coach at Let Me Write It For You: Job-Winning Resumes and Career Services

Stan: Debra please tell me about yourself and your services.

Debra: I work with motivated job seekers and career changers who may need a variety of services ranging from coaching, job interview assistance, career research, cover letters, statements of qualifications, resumes, 30/60/90 day plans, LinkedIn profiles and updates on all career communications.

!

Stan: What advice would you give business owners?

Debra: Set your professional goal for your practice; find 5 professionals to emulate and begin to shine in like manner.  Our senior colleagues don't mind helping you at all; once you can substantiate your professional raison d'etre (reason to be). Don't be shy about communicating the attributes that you bring to the profession and to your ideal clients.  Know how to verbalize your passion for your existence in this business.  


Debra can be reached at: 

www.letmewriteitforyou.org | www.facebook.com/letmewriteit4u | |www.linkedin.com/in/letmewriteit4u

931.269.WR1T(9718)

As seen in USAA Military, NBC Chicago, MSN Latino, Monster.com,

The Calgary Sun (Canada), Careerbuilder.co.uk

Career Affiliate, Career Thought Leaders, Nat'l Resume Writer's Assn, Career Director's Int'l

FEATURED - Tom Powner (Career Coach, Resume Writer Mock Interview and Development Coach)

By: Stan Washington

Tiny Interview - Thomas Powner  Founder / Career Coach, Resume Writer Mock Interview and Development Coach at Career Thinker Inc.

Stan: Tom please tell me about yourself and your services.

Tom: We provide branded resumes, bios and LinkedIn profiles to enable career minded people to get the job they seek. We have a unique job search strategy that works! We also help our clients by performing mock interviews. We increase their career Connect-Ability!

Stan: What advice would you give business owners?

Tom: Understand and infuse technology in your business operations to increase productivity. Referrals are key, so stay connected to your clients even when they no longer need your services or products.  


Tom can be reached at: 

866-369-9634

http://careerthinker.com/

TomPowner@CareerThinker.com

FEATURED - Jan Marino (Founder / Personal & Business Reinvention Expert)

By: Stan Washington

Tiny Interview - Jan Marino, Founder / Personal & Business Reinvention Expert

Stan: Jan please tell me about yourself and your services.

Jan: High Gain provides reinvention services for individuals and businesses including branding, social media, sales & marketing strategies, sales training, business intelligence and disruptive progress/results

Stan: What advice would you give business owners?

Jan: Talk to your customers every day and find out exactly what they need to be more successful. 


Jan can be reached at: 
630-299-9927
http://highgaincompanies.com  
jan.highgainco@gmail.com

FEATURED - Advice from Small Business Owner Mary Konow

By: Stan Washington

Tiny Interview - Mary Konow, M.S., GCDF

Stan: Mary please tell me about yourself and your business.

Mary: As the owner and career coach for MK Career Designs, I prepare job seekers and proactive professionals for success through empowering Career Coaching, effective career documents and strategic LinkedIn Profile Optimization. I help alleviate the stress of job searching with job readiness strategies, empowering job seekers to take the next step. I help professionals position themselves before the next big opportunity, show them how to grow their network and build professional credibility. www.MKCareerDesigns.com

Stan: What advice would you give small business owners right now?

Mary: As small business owners, we are always marketing our products and brand- whether we realize it or not. All networking efforts should be seen as a part of our overall marketing plans. Get out there, talk to people in your community and build relationships- in doing so, you will also build your brand. Stay consistent in your marketing and your efforts will pay off.

To see more information about Mary and her service please visit: www.MKCareerDesigns.com

Would you like to be featured? Contact me with "Feature Me" in the subject at contact@honorservicesinc.com.

Large Email Systems Hacked and what to do about it!

Date: March 28, 2014
By: Stan Washington

January 31st Yahoo reported their e-mail system was hacked. Since this occurrence, we have noticed a substantial rise in the number of email delivery failures due to people changing their accounts. Communication through this vehicle is extremely important. Stay updated and stay safe!

Here are a few things to do:

1. Update your records for all of your clients and potential clients.  This is important to do on a regular basis to make sure you have the correct email address.
2. Be email cautious. Check your own email and never open an email from "Friends' Name" as the only thing in the subject. 
3. CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD! I know I have said this before. Pick an obscure date and change your password on a regular basis.
4. Use a stronger password. The bad guys like to use apps to hack your password. Theses apps never get tired and are relentless in their pursuit.  Use @#$%^&* ()-_=+ characters along with numbers and letters to keep the hackers guessing. The longer the better!
5. Don't share passwords across systems. I know, I know! This is truly a pain. Once you are hacked then other items are vulnerable. Secure your bank account with the strongest password and save the weaker ones for the church bulletin app.

BE SAFE!!

You Talkin' to Me? (How are you treating your potential clients?)

Original picture and Article from Mashable:http://mashable.com/2013/11/25/customer-relationships/?utm_cid=mash-com-fb-bus-link

By: Stan Washington
Date: November 26, 2013

What Sales Approach Works?

I recently spoke to a number of small business owners and they had different ways to approach sales. One person was very bold and direct and another was shy and timid. Both had sagging sales and both need to consider rethinking how they handle their potential client

Pressure Cooker Approach
"What would it take to get you in one of these?" seems like the cheesiest line from the used car salesman. The pressure sales tactic leaves a terrible taste in everyone's mouth. After a while you get a reputation that you are only there to sell your house with the leaky roof built on a graveyard.

Whisper and Run Approach
"I have a product to try" whispered the shy person. When people said "No!" they ran for cover! This shows a lack of confidence in your own product. People will try to test to see if you believe in your own product. If you don't then they will run away from you and your scary service.

Bad Mouthing the Opponent Approach
"They don't have what I have! They are bad and I am good" makes the potential client ask "How can I trust you?" This approach seems slimy and uncomfortable. It seems like you will do and say anything to get my cash.

All the approaches listed above use one common style. They talk "AT" the potential client.

Build the Relationship Approach
"Let's address your problem together" is the statement that resonates with your potential client.  By understanding your clients' needs, you can provide a great solution to even the simplest problems they face.  This requires keeping notes on each potential client and client.

Yes it's easy to remember facts about 10 or 12 clients but when you get over 50 forget it! Some small business owners had 2,000 and 3,000 people they had to keep track of and there was no way to do it without software!

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Try keeping powerful notes on each potential client to land the deal with at http://www.careercoachoffice.com. Try it FREE today!

Career Coach Office Featured on Naperville News Channel 17 (Business Connection Show)

In a recent interview, Stan Washington (Founder and President of Career Coach Office) revealed the latest version of the software is now open to small businesses of all types. He also mentioned workshops and consulting for small businesses especially start-ups.

Twitter - @CCoachOffice
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/CareerCoachOffice
Website - http://www.careercoachoffice.com

Is Technology Too Confusing to Use?

By: Stan Washington
Date: October 10, 2013

After meeting with a number of small business owners, it became very apparent they were not using technology to it's fullest. No offense to the dinosaur tools of paper phone-books and newspapers but I can't remember the last time I used either for my business needs.

Technology is supposed to make our lives so much easier, but is it making it more complicated?


I did an informal poll at a conference of small business owners and found some surprising results around technology.  This is my world and according to my narrow thinking, everyone was using it to its fullest! Well my technology utopia was shattered when I talked with people.

Business Website - I was thoroughly surprised to find a whopping 38% of the people we polled still have not invested in a website of some kind.  There are so many tools to build sites yourself, but then again we believe in technology!

Facebook Page - I was not as surprised to find 45% of those polled still did not use a Facebook page. Content tends to be the issue. Many small business owners don't like creating their own content to post.

Twitter Account - The low number of 43% of our poll takers using a Twitter Account was not a surprise.  Since they are afraid of generating content for Facebook, then they feel the same way about Twitter.

LinkedIn Page - Some of our poll takers did not even know this was an option for them.  They confused having a business page with being part of a discussion group.

E-Mail Marketing - This was another surprise to me.  Those who did not have a website used E-mail marketing to spread the word about their business.  I still wondered what they are using as a landing page to discuss their products and services.

We have seen as much as a 40% increase in business awareness of those who use e-mail marketing campaigns over those who use referral only.

Online Invoicing - Word documents converted to PDF was the prevalent method of doing invoices.  Many were still concerned about the cost of using credit/debit cards. What is the cost of not accepting this form of payment? According to CreditCards.com:

Credit card users surveyed in 2012 who used their cards to buy:

Clothing: 67 percent
Gas: 64 percent
Food: 64 percent
Travel: 62 percent

Credit and debit cards are here to stay.  Cost avoidance may mean business avoidance.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) - E-mail phone-books and lists were still the tool of choice.  Some said they tried CRM but felt it didn't do much for them. Our experience is different.

Jobs and business deals have a common number... 80% are found through relationships. Managing relationships through a contact management system keeps information organized and available.

Please visit us at http://www.careercoachoffice.com today to make sense out of technology.

Usability expert finds Windows 8 on a PC confusing

I must say I found this article to be interesting!  We are quickly working through interface updates to streamline processes not confuse customers.

===============================================================

Here is the article from NBC's website
http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/usability-expert-finds-windows-8-pc-confusing-954680

Though Windows 8 is winning rave reviews for its touch-friendly tablet experience, many feel that the operating system’s “Modern-style” UI makes life more difficult for PC users. Count usability expertRaluca Budiu of the Nielsen Norman Group among these critics. Though she has not conducted any formal studies on Windows 8, the former Xerox PARC researcher and user experience  specialist has used the new OS enough to conclude that, for productivity tasks on the PC at least, Windows 8 is less user friendly than its predecessors.

Budiu explained to us why the design principles Microsoft used don’t make sense for PCs and have the potential to confuse desktop users and slow them down.

Laptop: Is Windows 8 more or less user-friendly for PCs than previous versions of Windows?

Budiu: It’s hard to say without doing an in-depth study, but at least for some tasks, the usability is worse. There are things that you can do more easily in Windows 8. For instance, it’s easy to share a news story through email or with friends on Facebook. But, I am not sure that these are the tasks that people do most often on a PC.

Windows 8 is optimized for content consumption rather than content production and multitasking. Whereas content consumption can easily be done on other media (tablets and phones), production and multitasking are still best suited for PCs. Windows 8 appears to ignore that.

Laptop: How will switching back and forth between different environments (Modern and Desktop) affect PC owners? 

Budiu: Users will need to remember two different interfaces. They will learn Windows 8, but won’t be able to forget Windows 7. And they will need to keep track of which app goes with each framework. [It's] definitely a cognitive burden, but not an insurmountable one.

Laptop: Is it a mistake to force people to relearn an interface that has been popular for 20 years?

Budiu: So it seems, at least if we talk about desktop computers. There are several reasons:

• The learning curve is going to be steep.
   
• The duality of Desktop-Metro is likely to confuse at least some of the users.
   
•  Most important, while Windows 8 embraces some important mobile design principles (such as giving priority to content), not all these principles are well suited for the larger non-touch screen of most PCs or laptops.  

Many apps waste a lot of space for huge images and give little space to text. The idea of hiding the controls to give priority to content may make sense on mobile, where screen space is so limited, but it doesn’t make that much sense on a large screen, especially if users have to work harder to access hidden features. For instance, to expose the URL bar or the list of tabs in the browser you will need to click the right button of the mouse. The back button is not visible either, but if you hover on the left hand side of the screen, it becomes visible.

Courtesy of Laptop

Laptop: If you are in Windows 8′s desktop environment and want to launch a new desktop application, you must return to the tile-based Start screen to click a shortcut. One could argue that going to a different screen is no more time consuming that opening up a Start menu that overlays on top of the screen. Was Microsoft really wrong to remove the  Start menu?

Budiu: The advantage of the overlaid menu is that it preserves context. Cognitively, there’s more of a burden when you have to switch context twice (desktop->start screen; start screen -> desktop). There are reasons to force users to switch contexts, especially in the tablet or phone environment, where screen real-estate is a lot more expensive and a menu is forced to use only part of the (already-small) screen. In that situation, a separate page makes better use of the small screen space.

There are fewer reasons for a separate page on a desktop – the start menu is a cheaper interaction than the start page. Microsoft probably does it for the sake of consistency – they want you to start an app in the same way, regardless of whether you are in the desktop environment on a PC or laptop, or in the Metro environment on a PC or on a tablet, or on a mobile phone.

For the PC case, I think that if you are going to have two environments, consistency is important, because otherwise people will always have to keep track of which action to use in which environment – which is an extra burden on their memory. So although the start menu is the cheaper solution (in terms of interaction cost), not using it in the desktop environment is probably the right thing to do, given the choices already made by the Metro interface.

Courtesy of Laptop

Laptop: The Windows 8 Switcher displays each Modern style app as its own thumbnail but folds all the desktop apps into a single thumbnail because it considers the desktop itself to be an app. Is this a usability problem?

Laptop: When using Windows 8 with a mouse, you must hover for half a second over the upper left or right corners of the screen to bring up key menus (the Switcher, the Charms menu). Does hovering slow the user down?

These hidden menus also have zero affordances on the desktop, which makes them hard to discover for the first time. And even if you discovered where to click, being able to correctly remember which menu goes with location on the screen will require a fair amount of practice and continuous usage.

And yet another problem of these menus in the left and right corners is that they interfere with scroll arrows in some apps. The scroll arrows at the bottom of the screen are very close to the bottom corners of the screen, which are supposed to expose the menus. In general, it looks like the corners of the screen (the top, too, presumably, since this is how you close the app) are no longer good places to position controls.

using a menu does slow users down, but that’s not the major problem. The fact that the menus are hidden is primarily what slows users down – remember that what’s out of sight is out of mind. In our studies with mobile devices we found that whenever a menu was not in plain view, even users who knew about the existence of that menu (that is, they had discovered it in the past) didn’t use it as much or took a longer time to think to use it than if the menu options were all visible. So it’s not only the hovering that slows users down – it’s the lack of visibility that makes these menus less available.


try us at http:/www.careercoachoffice.com

Starting a business can seem slow as molasses!

After three years of development our team finally got excited of the release of our new software, Career Coach Office.  The initial tests with experts in the field stated everything would go well. On launch day we had technical issues that were minor, but still issues nonetheless.

It seemed like it took forever to correct the tiny issue not displaying a client's  picture correctly and fixing the dreaded "un-styled" tax update form that was buried way in the invoicing tool.

Let me just say every business has it's obstacles that must be overcome.

1. Expect that there will be obstacles and deal with them as they come.
2. Don't freak out when something goes wrong. All the planning in the world won't eliminate issues.
3. Break your issues down to small components so they can be addressed in a timely fashion.
4. Don't give up! When the going get's tough, you know the rest!

What seems like an incredibly slow period to you is really a short period of time to your consumers. They have no idea how many sleepless nights you've had so relax and fix the issues in an expeditious orderly fashion.

visit http://www.careercoachoffice.com and tell us what you think.

Is the Facebook’s Graph Search a positive or a negative?

(Photo by Kevin Smith - Some Awful and Hilarious Stuff You Can Find Out About People Using Facebook Search)

Facebook has come up with another way to create a strange perception that will be difficult for employers and coaches to manage.  It’s called “Graph Search” and it is on the horizon. This new technology will let you search the public to get “opinions” on almost any subject you would like to search on.

The problem is the data can be incomplete or unscientific and may cause people to form assumptions based on skewed information.

Here is what you should do if you are a Facebook user:

• Change your privacy settings
• Have your close friends modify their settings
• Review your timeline every once in a while to see how your name is being used and what you are associated with.

Did I call your daughter Zack?

Business was going quite well.  I had made a lot of connections and prided myself on knowing my clients. As I spoke to one of my referrals for the second time I just knew I was going to get a new client. We started discussing children. “How’s Zack” I asked.  From the awkward silence I sensed I had said something wrong. 

“My daughters’ name is not Zack.”

From there the conversation went downhill.  My business had experienced growing pains and I could no longer keep all the information about my potential clients in my head.  The names were too similar or circumstances too parallel.

PHONE NOTES ARE DIFFERENT THAN CONVERSATION NOTES

When I have a conversation with someone I like to document where we had the conversation and list any pertinent information that would help me serve them better.  Usually the actions are longer term so I don’t have to act upon them right away.

When I’m on the phone I like to capture action items and place them in an organized place where I can find them. With separate notes I can see how many times I made contact with the potential client.

GET RID OF THE FANCY NOTEPAD

I called myself organized until I had to find the phone number of someone I was going to refer to one of my clients. I fumbled, flipping through pages and pages of notes but to my chagrin I could not find the information.  Turns out I had written it on another notepad. I discovered the number two weeks later!

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) HAD TO BE EASY

Career Coach Office offers CRM specifically built for coaches but can be used by any business. Keep track of notes and document the number of times you contact that potential client. List action items and keep the relationship flowing towards your business.

HR consultant and Coaches...Try Career Coach Office for free! Go to http://www.careercoachoffice.com.