Lisbeth Calandrino

Financial Tips: Getting Through Tough Times

2009-07-10T06:00:00-04:00

Budget for a new reality

If you have an uncertain future, or think you might, then “scrub”your budget.

Build emergency savings for yourself and look at your major obligations. If you don’t want to give up your outside expenditures -- trips to Starbucks, picking up a new cosmetic, that trip to the dollar store that never turns out to be a dollar -- then plan to take less money with you and leave your credit cards at home. Take only enough cash to spend or make one less trip.

See how long you can keep that $20.00 in your wallet.

Refinance your house?

Take a look at the rates, what you save in both the short and long term. Sometimes the closing costs are as much as what you will save over the long run. This isn’t such a good deal.

Where is your money going?

Too many trips to the supermarket, buying large quanties and half gets thrown out because it doesn’t get used? Maybe this is the time to lose that weight your’ve been complaining about. You don't have to eat less, just eat smart.

Get rid of your debt

Put away the credit cards, period. Start looking at what you’re buying and why. In the meantime, just don’t add anything to your debt. In times like these, since there is so much uncertainty, plan to make it easier in the future -- not harder.

Check out these classic articles from Zen Habits on managing your finances in hard times.

Are Your Salespeople Making You Money?

2009-07-08T10:35:06-04:00

Legal Sea Foods Knows!

So my friend and I decided to stop at a favorite restaurant, Legal Sea Foods. Legal Sea Foods started out as a market in Cambridge, MA and opened their first small restaurant next to the market in 1968. In 1994 they opened in Logan Airport outside of Boston. I have also discovered a LS in National Airport. The food is amazing and my friend who has eaten his way around the world says the clam chowder is second to none. I should also he add he never orders clam chowder—except at Legal Sea Foods.

At this point they operate over 30 family-owned restaurants, a mail-order business and a grocery products division. The Berkowitz family is into the third generation, which in itself flies against the statistics that 80% of third generation business go down the drain. My first culinary experience with LS was in the Logan Airport—what a surprise! Which leads me to why we should all take note.

Our server, Molly, was "texting" in our order. The device looks like a Blackberry but it's called the Siva and is designed by Microsoft. The software it uses is called PAR. Molly has been accused of texting by the blue-haired bunch plenty of times. But she's not -- she's doing her job the way it's meant to be done. The Siva links the order directly to the kitchen, and if a customer has allergies she punches that in and everyone is alerted.

So, is Molly a good server, and does Legal Sea Foods have criteria for good service? Does she treat everyone well, up-sell when appropriate, mention the desserts and know how to present the right wine with the right fish? Well, with this technology, you might think it doesn't matter so much. It's all in her computer. The Siva can tell how long the customer stays at the table and what Molly is selling. In addition LS uses Ing@nico, which they call "pay at the table" so your credit card never leaves the guest’s hands.

While the technology is all well and good, it doesn't replace the actual service and friendliness that Molly provides. She is a restaurant representative from their customer service department, essentially. And a large part of eating out -- no matter how much we deny it -- is being served and being served well.

So, if your store is based on technology, or your sales staff is able to be much more efficient with technology, don't forget to check on whether they're still using the same customer-service oriented approach that you trained them in. A computer does much to increase efficiency and measurement, but it can never replace a genuine smile and genuine hospitality.

Want a "Legal Clambake?" Legal Sea Foods offers full event planning, menu, staff, and the right equipment for an old-fashioned clambake. Contact 617-530-9455 or www.legalseafoods.com.

You Never Know Where the Next Best Idea is Going to Come From

2009-06-27T22:24:23-04:00

In Search of New Sources of Revenue

Like many of you, I am working harder than ever to maintain the level of business this year versus last. As I work on the core of my business – consulting, training, writing books, etc. – I am always searching for new revenue streams. Who isn’t looking to make more money?

My search led me to look into the field of direct selling. I know what you’re thinking: "What’s Lis gone off and done now?" Hear me out.

Direct selling, also known as multilevel marketing (MLM), is sometimes confused with what people call "pyramid schemes." According to my research, although seemingly the same, direct selling and pyramid schemes are very different. By definition pyramid schemes rarely involve a product of value. The income from a pyramid scheme comes primarily from the recruiting of other associates. On the other hand, multi-level marketing is a marketing strategy that compensates promoters not only for product sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of others they introduced to the company. With multilevel marketing, you can continue to make money by selling the product even if you never recruit another person.

The products and company are usually marketed directly to consumers and potential business partners by means of relationship referrals and word of mouth marketing, basically another form of retail marketing. In a 2007 Wall Street Journal interview, economist Peter Vander Nat stated, "If people are buying because they want to use a company’s products, those sales can count as retail. So now I'm wondering is, could network marketing simply be another retail business without a store?

The most recognized MLM businesses have been Amway, Avon Products and Tupperware, to name a few. These days, you see MLM businesses for all kinds of products and services. Health and wellness is a huge MLM segment (think Herbalife, Melaleuca, etc.). The majority of direct sales companies use a compensation plan where the seller is paid not only for their own sales, but also a percentage of the sales of other representatives they introduced into the organization and helped train. The key to success in any MLM business is in duplicating a system and then leveraging that system through the work of other associates on your team. You do not need to be successful sales professional to be successful in direct selling.

The World Federation of Direct Selling Associations reports that its 59 regional member associations accounted for more than US $114 billion in retail sales in 2007, through the activities of more than 62 million independent sales representative. The United Sates Direct Selling Association reported that in 2000, 55% of adult Americans had at some time purchased goods or services from a direct selling representative and 20% reported that they were currently (6%) or had been in the past (14%) a direct selling representative.

You can see why the multi-level marketing industry has experienced growth in each of the last 20 years. I can’t think of any other industry that can say the same.

The second part of this recipe for success involves the explosion of the Internet. Every day over 100 million videos are viewed on YouTube. In the last 5 seconds, 10 million emails have been sent! According to a New York Times article, overall, 57 percent of Internet use was devoted to communications like e-mail, instant messaging and chat rooms, and 43 percent for other activities including Web browsing, shopping and game playing. Users reported that they spent 8.7 percent of their Internet time playing online games. I guess what it says is that people are online.

Direct selling has seen entrance into the world of email, video and the video email business.

What’s next? Stay tuned for my experience with direct selling and new technology.

A Homecoming Can Be All That You Make It and More

2009-06-16T10:07:21-04:00

Several weeks ago I was invited to speak at Carpet Network’s Homecoming 2009 in San Antonio, TX. Carpet Network is a shop-at-home franchise founded in the early 90s by Christine and Lenny Rankin. At the time they had a very successful floor covering store and decided to take their concept to the next level. It was obvious to Chris that it was often difficult for customers to make decisions in the store. It was much easier when the customer looked at the products in their own home. "With that," says Chris, "the shop-at-home concept that was to be Carpet Network was born."

Chris continues. "At the time, when retail stores are struggling to survive, our mobile concept is booming. Our state-of-the art Unicell vans allow our customers to view thousands of carpet, floor and window covering selections from the comfort of their homes or business."

Just a note about franchised business, they are successful for one main reason: they have a proven system in place. There is no question McDonalds and Dunkin’ Donuts have survived because of their systems. Franchise businesses have a failure rate of only 25% within the first five years, and traditional businesses have a failure rate of about 80%. It’s the system that works. By buying a franchise you are buying into a set system of rules and regulations that have been tested and work.

Fiesta Time!

So, what better place to hold a “homecoming” but in San Antonio during Fiesta time. A local nonprofit group or military organization sponsors every one of the 107 official Fiesta events of 2009. Fiesta is one of America’s truly great festivals. It began as a way to honor the memory of the heroes of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto. For over 100 years Fiesta has celebrated the diversity and culture of San Antonio.

The theme of Homecoming 2009 for Carpet Network was all about how franchisee members could take advantage of new ways to build their business. Social networking with Facebook and Blogging spurred much great discussion. Facebook seems to be a way of communicating for everyone these days -- including the Fiesta -- with their page hosting hundreds of comments as well as information on events. With golf events, carnival, great food and music, San Antonio at Fiesta is a wonderful place for a convention.

Speaking of social networking, Lenny Rankin, CEO of Carpet Network, gave some interesting facts on social media*.

85% of Americans believe a company should not only be present via social media but also interact with its consumers.
60% of Americans interact with companies on a social medial web site, and one in four interacts more than once a week.
56% of American consumers feel both a strong connection with and better serviced by companies when they can interact with them in a social media environment.

Of course no business event is compete without its stars. Dave Fitzwater was chosen for the President’s Award, Carpet Network’s highest achievement. I had the opportunity to talk with Dave and get his thoughts about Carpet Network’s mobile business and why they are so effective. Here's what he said:

The ability to go to the customer is key. You don’t have to wait for the customer to come to your place; you have been invited to theirs. It’s important to be professional and organized.
Without a storefront your overhead is greatly reduced. Having a well-equipped mobile showroom is just as effective as a brick and mortar business.
People get connected to the person with the products. Not the products or the storefront—but the person. Often times this gets misinterpreted by salespeople. They push their products instead of building their own credibility.
You must have good training and support from your home office. Having a good franchise behind you keeping up with trends and providing good back up is key.

Great weather, wonderful town and great people; what could be better?

Resources

A Smokin' Good Time

2009-06-09T11:03:33-04:00

So what are 200 men -- paying $150.00 each -- doing at the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, NY on a Thursday night? You got it, smoking good cigars, eating great food, talking with friends and getting a shave!

Habana Premium Cigar Shoppe's annual Habanapalooza event was so big that it had to be hosted in the huge Washington Avenue Armory. Guests received cigars, amazing food as well as raffles and door prizes. I caught up with chef Carmine from the eponymous Carmine's to gush over his chicken dish. I was hoping to get a doggy bag but there was nothing left at the end of the night. More spectacular food from Lo Porto and Yono's.

The event was hosted by Scott Bendett, owner of Scott Pipes and Cigars. I caught up with Scott and asked what the purpose of the event was. His reply was, "These are my customers who have stood by me all these years and I love having them all here."

Scott talks about the "old days" when, 13 years ago, he started the Habana Premium Cigar Shoppe with 15 boxes of cigars in a cart in Colonie Center. Today, Scott not only has two locations in the Capital District but is a leader in the cigar industry.

"What did it take to get where you are?" I ask Scott. "A lot of hard work and loyal customers," he says. Scott is also proud to have been voted the best cigar store by Times Union, Metroland and Capital Region Living. Scott has at least 15 events scheduled through the next two months. He also hosts a weekly radio show, The Good Life, on Paul Vandenburgh's TALK 1300 AM on Saturdays at 1:00 PM.

Okay, so what was I doing there? I don't get to go to cigar events that often, but I do have a favorite place in Oklahoma City called Makers Cigar and Piano Lounge, where they also have good music and cognac. My client, Sim’s Barbershop, was asked to provide complementary shaves to the guests at the show. Armed with lots of product, two barber chairs, and lots of good humor, owners Greg Zorian, Steve Vilot and barber Jill Sbrega start the shaves and the fun begins. Greg and Steve love to do what they call their "extreme shaving" -- shaving any place any time. Men have been shaved on ski slopes, golf courses, race tracks and at Habanapalooza. I have to admit, not having attended this type of function, I was unaware of male camaraderie. Sure, sporting events are one thing— though I wonder if maybe this is a sporting event.

According to Greg and Steve, getting out of the shop is a way to build business and get to know new people. Greg's been in the barber business since he was 14 and says "Men love to have a place of their own to get pampered just like women. High-end barbershops have never been out of style, there just aren't many of them."

With business tight, networking is a solid way to add to your customer base.

If you want to make new friends and get new customers, you have to get out of your place of business.
Be different, have fun and give value. What's value? It's more than the customer would ever expect.
Be willing to partner with other businesses. These don’t have to be aligned businesses, just good businesses that provide great service and are willing to share their customer base.
Remember that in order to get, you have to give. Be willing to get out and invest in your community. Greg, Steve, and Scott are huge supporters of their local chambers and attend as many functions as possible.

I interviewed many guests and asked the question: why come here? The answers were almost always the same: good food, a good cause and good friends.

I guess it can’t get much better that.

Resources

Who's Watching You?

2009-06-02T12:28:28-04:00

How do you know if your ads are good or bad? Does it really matter?

What really matters is that someone notices and the customer remembers you -- enough to buy.

Some things I just don’t always get. Or let’s say I just don’t get it quick enough. One of them is the GEICO "Kash" campaign. Don’t get me wrong, I am fascinated by the campaign, I just don’t know if it changes my ideas about insurance.

The Martin Agency is the brains behind the Kash idea. In a nutshell, the campaign shows a creepy-looking stack of money with eyeballs staring at you -- seemingly to indicate the money you could have saved had you been a GEICO customer. In the commercial, a roofer tells another roofer that he’s being watched or “scoped out” (by a girl, he thinks). Of course the roofer is being scoped out by a creepy stack of GEICO money.

In this one, a man stops for directions and he notices a GEICO stack of money looking at him from the fence. The man looks and says, “Poor fella. He must have been following you for miles. Looks tired.” Everyone is creepy and it makes you think twice before asking for directions on a lonely highway. The interesting thing about these spots is that they are so random.

In another commercial, a businessman is distracted during a meeting when a squeaking noise diverts his attention. It's Kash, who appears on a window-washer platform. "That's the money you could be saving with Geico," explains a co-worker. And finally, in another ad, a woman spends more time flirting with Kash than her date. All commercials end with a remake of the '80s Rockwell hit "Somebody's Watching Me."

Okay, so the character represents the average national savings consumers get from using GEICO, which is supposedly $500. According to Mike Lear, associate creative director at The Martin Agency, an IPG shop in Richmond, Va., "Geico loves to talk about savings, that's their recurring theme. We just dumbed it down to the most basic thing in the world, 'I want more money.'"

With the song, of course Geico wants you to hear it and think of GEICO. Kash now joins the animated gecko, the surly caveman and the consumer/celebrity testimonials. This all translates to $595 million in advertising dollars, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

That's quite the chunk of change.

Okay, so many of us haven’t been smart about our money and of course now we all know it. Don’t get me wrong, I think the commercials are funny, and I feel “empathy” for the cavemen, but I actually haven’t gone and compared my existing insurance rates with GEICO.

Have you?

Resources
Stanford Daily
Ad Week
Brandweek
www.adgabber.com

If You're Looking for More Customers, Consider a Blog

2009-05-27T08:41:50-04:00

As retailers we are always hung up in selling product. It’s as if we still think the customer builds a relationship with the product rather than the salesperson. More than ever, the customer wants to know if your “representative” is trustworthy. If the customer has done business with you before you have a better shot, but it’s still no guarantee that she trusts you. What happened to all those other “trustworthy” people, where did they go?

So what can the blog do?

One of the big things is to encourage a dialog between you and your customers. There’s no guarantee that they will respond to your posts but you can ask for comments, do surveys and write a post that might provoke new thought. The key is to get readers to pay attention and want to come back for more. This is the difference between the old advertising -- push in my face -- and new advertising -- pull me in because I want to be there. Remember, this is the way to get your customers to offer more clout, precisely because it comes from your customers. It’s like when you were a kid and your mom bragged about how good a ball player you were. As your mom, she was expected to support you, or at least we hope she did. What a difference when your friend’s father bragged about how good you were. Endorsements from others always have clout -- you know there's no ulterior motive.

Remember, the Internet is viral; if someone likes what they see or hear they can pass it along to others. In addition, you can link your blog to Facebook or Twitter for all the world to see. Start collecting those friends. Develop a blog following. Get your friends to “opt in”, which is basically signing up for a subscription to your blog. It means, "send me updates, I like what you say." Encourage people to pass your blog along to others that they think might like the information. Now we have more people involved. Ask that you send them your blog updates and provide a testimonial for you. A testimonial is really an advertisement.

Create excitement and fun on your site. There’s enough boring things in the world without you adding to it by supplying a commercial about your business. You want to be the person with the blog that people want to come to. You’re credible and interesting. Well, maybe/yes/no. Is it compelling? Are you trustworthy, fun and someone I want to see or hear again? Or was once enough? Try to solve it. A blog is a way to share information -- information that interests all.

As Chad Rothschild said, “Remember, people buy from people. So don’t forget the human element. It is more powerful than corporations think."

Resources

Chad Rothschild
Chris Bowcutt

Is Hulu Giving T.V. a Run for its Money?

2009-05-22T02:38:00-04:00

I wrote last week about Hulu, and wanted to provide some recent stats that you might not be familiar with.

55+ age group are most Hulu viewers: 47% in March 2008.
130+ Content providers on Hulu. NBC, Fox, Sesame Street, Comedy Central, Sony, MGM, Lionsgate and content produced specifically for the Web.
1250+ Titles of free shows and movies offered. Examples, Lost in Translation, all Force One, The Office, Family Guy, 30 rock, House, Arrested Development
125 Hulu employees in offices in Los Angeles, New York, Beijing and Chicago.
7.8 million site visitors in February -- a 55% jump from January likely due to Alec Baldwin Superbowl commercial.

Pretty incredible! The site is clearly giving T.V. a run for its money.

Still Don't Want To Twitter? You Might Be Losing Out On Business

2009-05-20T02:52:00-04:00

A new report from Nielsen Online suggests that Twitter hasn't yet reached a level of growth that can sustain the service, according to the research firm's mathematical model. Despite the explosive popularity of the messaging service, Nielsen data indicates more than 60 percent of Twitter users that visit the site in a given month do not return the following month.

So how can Twitter benefit your business? A funny thing happened the other day. A woman in my seminar said she was dying to meet Barry Manilow. So I "tweeted" precisely that -- meaning I put a message out on the Twitter wire asking about Barry Manilow. Before I knew it, there was a tweet back telling me where Barry was starring! Okay, so Barry isn’t your thing and you don’t care where he is, but suppose you had a problem and you wanted to get some information, where would you do? I now know I would go to Twitter.

How to use Twitter?

Start thinking of Twitter as an educational resource. Get into the habit of asking people for email addresses, their Facebook page and their Twitter page. Now you have it. So it feels strange because you still don’t know why you’re asking. A store owner of note told me the other day after three months of haphazardly going to Facebook, he knows has a sense of its value. Why, because he is asking all of his customers to "be his friend" -- a statement he still finds rather silly, but he has lots of lots of friends. You know, friends and friends of friends. I know for many of you it seems like a secret society, but I guarantee if you think about how it can help your business your thinking will change. Follow people and get them to follow you.

Twitter is a way to network. I received an email from someone I am following and they thanked me for my reply to their Tweet. (A short update of 140 characters or less). How can it be bad? Start following and leaving Tweets. The pluses are:

It's a good way to keep in touch with clients and friends. A very quick way.
You can get notified of events, deals, specials. Information from companies that might be useful to you.
Setting up an account is simple; start by following me, www.twitter.com/Lizzc, leave me comments and ideas.

And now, a little terminology lesson to help you navigate the ins and outs of Twitter:

Hashtag: Discloses the topic of your tweet by prefixing a word with a hash symbol, (i.e. #nbaplayoffs or #nfdraft.) Helps users find updates on specific subjects.
Nudge: A notification sent to a user’s phone asking them to tweet.
RT:Short for re-tweets. Users add RT in a tweet if they are reposting from another’s tweet.
Twackle: Websites with sports-related Twitter updates and organizes the tweets by events.
Tweetup: When Twitter users meet face-to-face
TwitPic: Allows user to post photos to Twitter.
Twitterati: Term used by the A-listers on Twitter.

Still not sure what it all means? You’re not the only one. I hope when Microsoft does a spell-check update they put in Twitter terms!

Resources

Change Not in the Cards for Anyone, Including Yourself?

2009-05-17T05:31:21-04:00

Sure, everyone knows that if your business is going to survive, it will have to change. That doesn’t mean you have to like it. In fact, maybe whining about it is good for you.Everyone has to change except you and me. Why -- because we’re right and we know what’s good for everyone else. Why won’t they get on board instead of getting in my way.

Well, maybe it’s not them. Could it be you?

How you view and treat people has a lot to do with the outcome of the situation. Just because people don’t agree with you doesn’t mean they won’t change. Maybe they don’t see or understand why the change is coming now. The best thing you can do is adjust your mindset and attempt to understand the people and the situation around you.

People not agreeing with you? Maybe that's a good thing -- a way to help you "tweak" necessary changes in your thinking. Even the most difficult of naysayers may have valuable insight into the situation. Before you start firing those for not agreeing with you, consider what is going on around you.

On a personal level, I was involved with a project that was destined to fail. The product was just too different for the market -- and way ahead of its time. The person who was spearheading the project had very strong opinions and was well-liked and respected. It was obvious to me that much of the agreement was due to the person's position rather than the marketability of the product. As the focus group leader I picked up underlying feelings that were not positive to the project. When I related this information my comments were considered negative and "in the way" of moving forward. Rather than question the information from the focus groups or listen to those closest to the project, the person pushed the project through and a great deal of money was lost by the investors.

Success in anything is often due to "timing and economic climate" -- it is not always advantageous to be first. Being first can be costly and not always a competitive advantage. In this case, waiting a year or two to introduce the project would have made a huge difference. For interesting insights on "timing," pick up a copy of Malcolm Gladwell’s wonderful book, Outliers.

Make sure everyone is told about the changes and how they will be affected. Change is complicated. Often times those who initiate the changes forget that many of those most affected by the changes haven't had enough time to think about what the changes will mean to them or don't even really understand anything about the changes. Consider the part-time worker who just vaguely hears about the change or the person who is the farthest from the decision maker. "There are few things that can shatter a person's view of the world like the discovery that all that was thought to be true no longer holds," says Wayne Hurlbert, consultant out of Winnipeg, Canada. To find out that everything one knows is wrong can be devastating news for many people. It doesn't have to be that way.

Explain how the change is in line with the business mission. Change, if presented right, just means the next step in your business plan. It's important to explain to everyone how the changes will affect not only employees but their customers. Remember, we are all here to serve the customers. If it's the next step for the customer it's the next step for us.

Listen to those around you. Often time owners don't listen to those closest to the customers. It's not unusual for owners to purchase products or attend trade shows without any of their sales staff. What you're seeing as resistance to change may be just the people around you voicing valuable opinions. For a clear picture, your feedback loop needs to be open, not closed. As I recall from history, the court jester was often asked his opinion because his ideas were always "out of the box."

Welcome challenging ideas from your employees. Maybe your employees aren't being stubborn; maybe those thoughts which appear to be challenges to your ideas will actually lead to new and better solutions. Remember those closest to the problems have an insight that is much different than the vision from 35,000 feet.