BroadPeak Executive Forum

Holiday Thank You Guide

The holidays are a time to give and receive which means that they are also a time to say "Thank You" frequently. In general, this is a great time of year to thank friends, clients, customers, and family for their friendship, business, and general support. Whom should you thank? Here is a quick guide to holiday thank-yous:

1. Clients - send a card, gift, email, or make a special phone call to thank your valued clients.

2. Customers - make a special effort to ensure that your customers know how much you appreciate them. Offer a discount, give a nominal gift, or just smile and say thank you.

3. Vendors - send thank-you notes, cards, emails or a token gift to valued vendors. If you have a great vendor relationship don't assume that the vendor is the one who owes you thanks just because you purchase from him/her. Good, honest, and reliable vendors are hard to find and should be treated like gold or else you may find yourself in an inconvenient or expensive situation. As an example, we just installed a stone floor in our living room. The floor was done quickly, with minimal inconvenience, was reasonably priced, and looks incredible. I sent a thank you card to the contractor because as far as I am concerned he deserves thanks for his incredible work.

4. Friends - Holiday cards are standard but make sure to write a personalized note to each of your close friends to let them know how much you value them.

5. Service Providers (hairdresser, colorist, manicurist, pet groomer, housekeeper, nanny, gardener etc.) - give some kind of holiday tip/bonus to any service provider with whom you have an ongoing relationship. They work hard to make you (your pets, your home, your lawn, etc.) look good and the holidays are a great time to say thanks.

6. Employees - if you are the CEO/Executive of a large company it may not be feasible to give a gift or card to every employee. But you should do something nice for your secretary, personal assistant, and other supporting staff. A card with a personalized note along with a gift card, gift certificate, or small gift will ensure that those who support you know that their efforts do not go unnoticed. Simply walking by your secretary's desk and saying something like, "Happy Holidays, thanks for all of your hard work." is absolutely not enough. Any executive who thinks that is an appropriate token of appreciation can look forward to trying to find a new secretary in January.

7. Colleagues - make sure that your trusted co-workers and colleagues know that you appreciate them. You an also take the opportunity to reach out to any difficult co-workers or "gate keepers" to let them know that you would like to build stronger relationships with them. The holidays present a ready-made excuse to reach out to others so why not make sure that you set the stage for a collaborative new year with all of your co-workers? Cards, homemade cookies, or just inviting a co-worker to lunch during the holidays are ways to build new or solidify old relationships.

8. New acquaintances - send cards to new business acquaintances whom you have recently met and write a note to let them know that you look forward to working with them/getting to know them in the new year. Make sure you include some kind of personalize note...simply signing a card isn't enough.

9. Your Boss - Why not give your boss a handwritten note/card to thank him or her for any special support that he or she gave you this past year? Being a manager can be a lonely job in which you may never be sure if you are doing a good job. If you like your boss and are appreciative of his or her efforts now is a great time to say so. No matter how appreciative you are though, expensive gifts to your boss aren't appropriate and may make him or her uncomfortable. A heartfelt note will mean a lot to any manager.

10. Family - gifts are great but time spent with family is the ultimate way to say "thank you and I love you" during the holidays. Workaholics need to remember that no matter how tempting it is to take your Blackberry with you on vacation the quality time you spend with your family during the holidays will yield bigger dividends in your life than your co-workers will.

If you are one of the many people who has a hard time crafting a good thank you note when you need to please click here to download my free Thank You Note Book on the Ultimate Resumes website.

How to Be a Great Client in 4 Easy Steps

As a resume writer and personal marketing consultant I continuously meet some pretty amazing people who accomplish incredible things in both their personal and professional lives. About 95% of my clients are a joy to work with and many of my clients become personal friends. On the other hand there are always a few clients who can be a little difficult to work with. When it comes to difficult clients, I provide the service that they contracted to the best of my ability but I don't go above and beyond for them. For example, I don't refer difficult clients to potential employers or my professional contacts once I have completed their resumes simply because I figure that if they are difficult with me, they may also be difficult with my contacts. If they are not nice to my contacts I lose credibility which, for me, is not an option.

I am sure that consultants in other fields have similar experiences with their clients. I think that to be a good client in any field there are a few things you need to do. Following is a short list of things you can do, as a client, to get the most out of your consulting relationship. This is by no means an exclusive list; there are probably many other things you should do to ensure that you get the service you want while building a strong relationship with your consultant. But this list is a good start...

1. Make sure you understand the service you are paying for.

If you aren't sure you understand the process, outcomes, or deliverables your consultant will provide don't be afraid to ask questions up front. Most consultants want to make sure you understand what you are going to get for your money. And, if the consultant doesn't offer a service that you want or can't explain it in a way you can understand you need to decide upfront whether or not you want to engage them.

2. Make sure to ask any questions about payment before you start the process.

One of my pet peeves is clients who, at the end of the process, tell me that they didn't understand how much the service was and/or try to negotiate price at that point. Negotiate payment upfront and if something changes during the process discuss it at the time. Don't wait until the product has been delivered to tell your consultant that you don't have the money or need a payment plan or don't want to pay the price of the service. Its rude and unprofessional. On the other hand, one thing I have learned is to get confirmation from the client that they understand the cost of service upfront rather than just assume they understand prices as stated on my website.

3. Be available when you say you will.

If you agree to be available for a call at 3 pm you should answer your phone at that time. If something comes up and you won't be able to talk/meet as planned don't forget to send an email or leave a voice mail to let your consultant know. Blowing off a consultant is rude and won't help you to get he service you want. Most consultants, including myself, schedule their days very tightly so that they can maximize time and revenue. Be mindful of that and you will get better and more timely service.

4. Pay on time!

Most consultants, especially sole proprietors, don't have an accounts receivable or collections department on hand to track you down and remind you to pay. When you receive the service just make your payment. You know you owe the money so why make it hard for your consultant to collect?

If you do these 4 simple things you will endear yourself to any consultant, coach, or contractor with whom you work and you will get better service than if you aren't considerate and respectful. If you make it easy for others to do their jobs they will have more time and energy to think of additional ways they can be of service to you.

Originally posted to http://ultimate-resumes.blogspot.com/

Free Sample Thank You Note Book from Ultimate Resumes

Awhile back I wrote a post about an ebook of sample thank you notes that I wrote. I have received numerous requests for the ebook so I have decided to simply make it available for download on the Ultimate Resumes website.  I don't seem to be able to put downloadable files on the blog so you need to click here to get to the page where you can download the ebook on Ultimate Resumes. Please let me know if you find the booklet helpful. Feel free to email me your comments or post a comment on this blog.

Some of the sample notes in the book include:

Business/Professional Thank Yous:
Thank you for a professional courtesy
Thank you for a job interview
Thank you for providing a lead, contact, or information
Thank you for doing great work (for a subordinate)
Thank you for your support
Thank you for dinner, lunch, or tickets
Thank you for your business

Personal Thank Yous:
Thank you for a gift (wedding, shower, other)
Thank you for hosting a meeting or party
Thank you for an introduction
Thank you for a kindness
Thank you for your sympathy card or flowers
Thank you from a houseguest
Thank you to a vendor

Happy note writing.

Liz

Networking Can Be Like Money In The Bank

Many people seem to think of networking as something that they need to do only when they need something such as a new job, membership in a club or organization, or when they are trying to raise money for a pet charity. At the point that you need to ask for favors or help from others it is too late to start networking.  You should start networking before you ever need anything from anyone. 

Similarly, financial planners advise clients to get in the habit of saving a portion of their income every month rather than waiting until a crisis happens to scramble around and try to find some cash. Building a strong network and building a nest egg are very similar and very important habits that you should have.

I am an outgoing person who enjoys meeting new people. I am not afraid to call someone that I don't know well and invite them out for lunch to get acquainted. I have been building and maintaining friendships my whole life because I generally like to be around other people and I don't mind putting in the effort to stay in touch. (Staying in touch does not have to be a time consuming endeavor.)

My oldest friendship began when I was 8 years old and we are still great friends who have helped each other both personally and professionally. Even if you aren't an extrovert you can learn to build and maintain relationships with people that you meet along whatever path your life takes. And I think that it is important that you do that because you never know when you may need a helping hand, a referral, or some other form of help from another person.

Building up your savings account shields you from hardships you might face when the market turns down or if you are laid off. Building and maintaining good relationships with a variety of people makes many aspects of your personal and professional life a lot easier. It is much easier to ask for a favor from someone whom you know well and with whom you have built up a trusting relationship based on mutual favors, assistance, and kindness than it is to hope for the kindness of strangers. I don't know about you but I am less likely to go out of my way to help someone I barely know than I am to help someone I know, like, and trust.

A big part of building relationships is helping other people with the things that are most important to them. When I meet someone new I try to listen to their current interests, personal and professional goals, as well as any goals they say that their children/family members have. If I am able to assist with any of their interests or goals I usually offer my help right away. Most people are surprised and appreciative of unsolicited offers of assistance and many of my great business and personal relationships have begun in that manner. And, I feel great about helping someone.

I have never asked for favors from many of my friends or business contacts. But, the times that I have needed to ask for some kind of help I have felt perfectly comfortable requesting it because I likely started the relationship by putting favors/help/kindness in the "friendship bank". The truth is that I really enjoying meeting new people and learning about what makes them special or unique so I am never thinking to myself, "what might I need from this person later on?" The truth is that my network is directly responsible for my professional success (my professional network continues to refer me fantastic clients) and personal happiness (I met my husband through someone I know) and I am grateful every day for the friendships that I have spent a lifetime cultivating.

My advice to you is that if you haven't done so already start building up a friendship bank by doing kind things for others. Listen carefully to what your friends and acquaintances tell you they need and help them to achieve their goals and dreams. Make the effort to stay in touch with co-workers who leave the company and take new jobs. Stay in email contact with your college friends. You will feel great about yourself and you will maintain relationships that will make the good times in your personal and professional life even better and will help you through tough times in life.

Friendships are like money in the bank!

Tips For Writing the Ultimate Resume

Last night I was fortunate to be able to present a webcast to students at Cardean University & Ellis College on the topic of resume writing. Based, in part, on my presentation, and based in part in the questions that the students asked last night I thought I would write a list of 10 tips for writing a great resume. This is not an exclusive list but it will get you started in the right direction if you need to write or update your resume.

1. Remember that your resume tells a story - think of it like a product brochure for the product "You, Inc."

2. Organize the document in a way that it is easy to navigate.  Put company names, your titles for each job, and dates in the same location for each job so that a casual reader can easily see where you have been and what you have been doing during your career.

3. Include a little bit (a couple of sentences) to describe each employer for whom you have worked. By doing this, you don't have to wonder if recruiters will have heard of that great start-up you worked for two years ago. Include ticker symbols and, if available, web addresses.

4. Focus on your accomplishments. Use bullets to emphasize your accomplishments in each job you have held. The best accomplishments are those that are quantifiable but any will do. Your accomplishments are what will get you hired.

5. Include some (but not a lot of) background about each job you have held. For your accomplishments to mean anything you need to include a short overview of your job duties when describing each job you have held. Put the background in paragraph form and include information like size of budget you managed, how many people reported to you, and a couple of sentences that describe what you were responsible for doing all day.

6. Include information about volunteer or civic organizations with which you are affiliated. Board memberships and leadership roles are always good to mention. Include dates of your involvement too.

7. Include, but be selective about, your technical skills. Generally, you don't need to mention that you are "proficient with Microsoft Word" because it is generally assumed that anyone hired into a professional environment these days knows the basics of the Microsoft Office suite. However, if you are a JAVA programmer or are an expert in a specialized software relevant to your field such as SAP or JD Edwards make sure to include that.

8. Include separate sections for for notable accomplishments such as patents that you hold, awards, media appearances, publications, or books you have written.  Big accomplishments deserve their own sections.

9. You don't have to include an "Objective" or "Summary" section at the top of your resume and if you do make sure it says something meaningful. Generic language that says something about your desire to work for "an industry leader" is meaningless and just takes up space on the page that you could be using to describe what a star you are in your field.

10. Proofread!! Use Spellcheck, check for grammar, punctuation, and readability. Grammatical and spelling errors will probably disqualify you from any job immediately. If the resume is hard to navigate or difficult to understand, a recruiter or hiring manager may just skip your resume in favor of one that is easier to read.

If you follow those 10 tips you will be on your way to having a resume that will help you to land the job of your dreams!  If you would like help in writing your resume contact Liz at either www.ultimate-resumes.com or lhandlin@broadpeak.us

An Entrepreneurial Success Story – Sambazon

The other day, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about Sambazon.  I thought that the tenacious Black brothers could teach all entrepreneurs something about tenacity and about understanding how to create a market for products.  To read the entire WSJ article about the Black’s click on this link.

Background

Brothers Ryan and Jeremy Black were on a surfing trip to Brazil in 1999 when they ran across the acai berries.  Ryan and Jeremy noticed that locals downed bowls of frozen purple mush made from berries that grew atop palm trees that were called, “the trees of life”.  The locals believe that these berries possess incredible health benefits for humans.

Ryan Black sensed açaí would appeal to mainstream U.S. consumers craving healthier fare. After raising $100,000 from friends and family, he and his brother began setting up an infrastructure in Brazil to harvest açaí organically and do it in a way that protected the rain forest and promoted fair trade. The trouble was, almost no one in the U.S. knew what açaí was -- or even how to pronounce it, for that matter. So how could they get their story out with no real marketing budget?

The answer was, essentially, to be traveling professors/evangelists for the obscure fruit. They decided to personally teach the nation what açaí was all about, by visiting stores and giving the stuff away.

From the beginning, the Black brothers hit music and environmental festivals and marathons, setting up booths and building a grass-roots following. They canvassed smoothie vendors, their first customer base, blending açaí into drinks, leaving literature behind and hawking their broader mission.

Sambazon, now has 100 employees. The San Clemente, Calif., company's sales totaled about $12 million in 2006, and the Blacks this year expect sales to increase by 50%, and to turn a profit. Their products are distributed at such stores as Whole Foods, Wild Oats and Jamba Juice, as well as many conventional grocery chains, while Sambazon açaí is found in hundreds of other companies' products, including those of Stonyfield Farm and Häagen-Dazs.

Even as Sambazon segued into mainstream retail outlets, even as it received some $9 million in outside financing, it pressed on with its educate-the-customer-by-giving-it-away approach. Sambazon spent $500,000 last year on store demos, doing 50 a week. Top retail executives took note. "Typically, smaller companies don't have payroll to compete with bigger players who can kick in money for advertising," says Chris Jacoby, a category manager for Albertsons grocery stores. "But Sambazon has been first-class in terms of setting up demos. I run into their reps in our stores more than any other company." Adds Whole Foods Market Inc. president Walter Robb: "Guys like this, you keep an eye on."

Lessons:

What can we learn from Sambazon’s success?

1. Entrepreneurs must be passionate about their products.

2. Entrepreneurs must sell their products in terms of benefit to the consumer.

3. Hang in there. Entrepreneurs must be tenacious in the face of obstacles.

4. Be creative in your marketing, communications, and PR efforts.

5. Spend your marketing, communications, and PR resources wisely, strategically, and to achieve high impact.

I think that lessons #4 and #5 are two keys to success.  They Black brothers have taken a thought leadership role with regard to their product. They educate rather than create glossy and expensive ad campaigns.  This differs from a large company like (for example) Coca Cola which, if it launched the sale of acai berries in the U.S. has the resources to kick off the campaign with a multi million dollar ad campaign in order to raise awareness among the public.  But for a small company like Sambazon creating a grassroots knowledge of product benefits by marketing the product to the right audience is the smart way to spend their marketing dollars.  And, as we can see it has worked. 

I found the article about Sambazon to be both motivational and chock full of great ideas for entrepreneurs.  If you are an entrepreneur and you would like some help creating a roadmap for your organization, give BroadPeak a call. We can help you think through all aspects of your business so that you and your product are poised for great success.

Eight Tips For Creating Thoughtful Web Content That Reaches Buyers Directly

I started reading a terrific blog the other day and I thought I would share one of the posts.  The blog is called Web Ink Now and it is written by David Meerman Scott, author of New Rules of Marketing and PR.  You can read the post below or you can click over to his blog...he has a lot of great information on marketing, public relations, and reaching customers via the web.  Check it out.

Eight Quick Tips to create thoughtful Web content to reach buyers directly

As many smart marketers know, a well crafted white paper, e-book, or Webinar contributes to an organization's positive reputation by setting it apart in the marketplace of ideas. This form of thought leadership based Web content brands a company, a consultant, or a nonprofit as an expert and as a trusted resource.

While each media for getting your thought leadership content into the marketplace of ideas is different, they share some common considerations:

Quick Tip #1: Most importantly—Do not write about your company and your products. Thought leadership content is designed to solve buyer problems or answer questions and to show that you and your organization are smart and worth doing business with. This type of marketing and PR technique is not a brochure or sales pitch. Thought leadership is not advertising.

Quick Tip #2: Define your organizational goals first. Do you want to drive revenue? Get people to donate money to your organization? Encourage people to buy something?

Quick Tip # 3: Based on your goals, decide if you want to provide the content for free and without any registration (you will get many more people to use the content, but you won’t know who they are) or if you want to include some kind of registration mechanism (much lower response rates, but you build a contact list).

Quick Tip #4: Think like a publisher by understanding your audience. Consider what market problems your buyer personas are faced with and develop topics that appeal to them.

Quick Tip #5: Write for your audience. Use examples and stories. Make it interesting.

Quick Tip #6: Choose a great title that grabs attention. Use subtitles to describe what the content will deliver.

Quick Tip #7: Promote the effort like crazy. Offer the content on your site with easy-to-find links. Add a link to employees’ e-mail signatures, and get partners to offer links as well.

Quick Tip #8: To drive the viral marketing effects, alert appropriate reporters, bloggers, and analysts that the content is available and send them a download link.

As many smart marketers know, a well crafted white paper, e-book, or Webinar contributes to an organization's positive reputation by setting it apart in the marketplace of ideas. This form of thought leadership based Web content brands a company, a consultant, or a nonprofit as an expert and as a trusted resource.

While each media for getting your thought leadership content into the marketplace of ideas is different, they share some common considerations:

Quick Tip #1: Most importantly—Do not write about your company and your products. Thought leadership content is designed to solve buyer problems or answer questions and to show that you and your organization are smart and worth doing business with. This type of marketing and PR technique is not a brochure or sales pitch. Thought leadership is not advertising.

Quick Tip #2: Define your organizational goals first. Do you want to drive revenue? Get people to donate money to your organization? Encourage people to buy something?

Quick Tip # 3: Based on your goals, decide if you want to provide the content for free and without any registration (you will get many more people to use the content, but you won’t know who they are) or if you want to include some kind of registration mechanism (much lower response rates, but you build a contact list).

Quick Tip #4: Think like a publisher by understanding your audience. Consider what market problems your buyer personas are faced with and develop topics that appeal to them.

Quick Tip #5: Write for your audience. Use examples and stories. Make it interesting.

Quick Tip #6: Choose a great title that grabs attention. Use subtitles to describe what the content will deliver.

Quick Tip #7: Promote the effort like crazy. Offer the content on your site with easy-to-find links. Add a link to employees’ e-mail signatures, and get partners to offer links as well.

Quick Tip #8: To drive the viral marketing effects, alert appropriate reporters, bloggers, and analysts that the content is available and send them a download link.

Why Happy Workers Are The Best Workers

By Steven Kent     From The Wall Street Journal Online

I have been an equity research analyst for more than 15 years, the last 10 devoted to analyzing consumer service stocks, including restaurants, hotels, casinos, and cruise companies. These are labor-intensive sectors. As part of my analyses, I have quizzed senior management on the steps they take to manage labor costs. It has been conventional wisdom that reducing wages and benefits improves profit margins, earnings, and even stock price because, generally, investors reward companies that cut these expenses. In reality it's not that simple.

I don't think enough investors have asked the more important question: Can companies be even more successful by focusing on optimizing each employee's contribution, rather than simply looking for ways to reduce the cost of employing them? Perhaps we, as investors, need to be more conscious of how those people who clean our hotel rooms, cook our meals, and deal our cards are treated and paid, rather than simply looking to see whether the expense can be cut further. Staff motivation, although difficult to quantify, should be part of the investment analysis.

You can read this article in its entirity at CareerJournal.com

For those of you interested in hearing more about how executives can set the tone from the top of the organization stay tuned for information about our May 1, 2007 CFO Forum with our keynote speaker Ed Maier.