Certified Lean Office And Data Management Specialist Cynthia Marsh-Croll

While working with my clients and as Program Manager of the Entrepreneurial Assistance Program I have a common theme presents itself.  How do I figure out how my business is doing?  As a business owner I need to know the answer to this myself.  So when I meet with my accountant, I want to give him the most up to date and accurate information.  Thus providing the data he needs to help me make sound financial decisions.  Your accountant can do this for you but they will need “information”.

I recommend that all businesses no matter what size have a solid and well maintained accounting system.  This is the financial history of your business.  To get the most out of a business health review with your financial professional include these questions

1. What are my projected sales for the next fiscal year per month (factoring in product and sales cycles)?  By collecting information on your previous sales, customers, etc. you can use that information to make an educated assumption about what is going to happen in the future. 
2. What were my costs for the last fiscal year?  What are my projected costs in the upcoming fiscal year?  Again, by tracking everything you paid out, to whom and for what will help you develop a realistic budget.  This information can be utilized by an experienced bookkeeper to help you create and maintain that budget.
3. What does my cash flow look like?  Do I have enough operating cash to stay in business?  Even if your profit and loss statement shows you made money that does not mean it is in the bank.  Businesses who do not manage their cash flow tend to go out of business.
4. What is my break-even point?  In other words how may widgets (product/service) do I have to sell to cover my costs?  At what point should your business be making a profit?
5. There are other ratios your accountant can help you calculate that will provide insight into managing your inventory, accounts receivable and accounts payable.  If you are seeing problems with your cash flow one of these may help you understand why.

With all of the different threats and opportunities in today’s business environment, business owners need to make educated decisions for the long term health of their organization.  That includes using an accounting system to collect information while conducting business and utilizing that valuable data to formulate plans for the future.  A quality account can help you reach your business goals if ~ you help them help you.

Croll Productive Synergy has been successfully helping diverse businesses operate better, faster and cheaper than their competition throughout the Hudson Valley.  By “creating the shortest path to success”,  Ms. Croll has been able to facilitate improved workflow systems, allowing clients to save time, focus on revenue generating tasks, prioritize for maximum cash flow,  effectively delegate and, consequently,  increase profits.  To learn more visit www.crollproductivesynergy.com.

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Certified Lean Office Specialist Cynthia Marsh-Croll

As one of my hats I am the Program Manager for the Entrepreneurial Assistance Program at the Orange County Chamber of Commerce.  The students go through the course and finish the session with a completed business.  This helps to reduce the start-up failure rate a wonderful benefit for our students.  Another part of the class is existing businesses.  When existing businesses sign up, they usually are there to develop a plan that can help them obtain funding.  However, after completing the course they come out with much more.

So why is planning important?  Without it you will waist a considerable amount of money, time, and resources.  You can’t get where you want to go if you don’t know where you want to end up.  Working with clients I usually find businesses who have grown ad hoc and call me when their inefficient back office operations are hampering growth.  By developing a business plan you can prepare for growth and potential risk or problems.  Therefore you are responding to your environment not reacting.  Also, having a solid plan gives you a tool for making decisions.  I tell my EAP students “If it does not help you reach your goals don’t do it”.  The plan gives you a construct to determine if a new opportunity needs to be added.

What are some of the components of good plan:

• The owner has to be involved in the planning process – you know your business like no one else.
• The plan is based in reality – including the marketing research, projected sales and cash flow.
• It includes what happens if things don’t go as planned – worst case scenario
• The plan is achievable – goals are SMART( Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely).
• The plan should be flexible enough to adapt if unexpected opportunities arise.  This also applies to problems.
• Review the plan often.  This is the roadmap for your business.

Those businesses who have developed plans increase their success rate.  They are able to make better business decisions and have an action plan to reach their goals.  That is why it is imperative that your business plan be reviewed often.  Did you hit your sales goals?  If not, why?  Where your assumptions correct?   Was your research on the competition accurate, etc.  These are all things that are factors in your continued success.  Create your business plan to develop your roadmap for success.  If you need any help with developing a business plan visit www.OrangeNYEAP.com.  I would love to have you in my next class.

Croll Productive Synergy has been successfully helping diverse businesses operate better and   faster than their competition throughout the Hudson Valley.  By “creating the shortest path to success”,  Ms. Croll has been able to facilitate improved workflow systems, allowing clients to save time, focus on revenue generating tasks, prioritize for maximum cash flow,  effectively delegate and, consequently,  increase profits.  To learn more visit www.CrollProductiveSynergy.com.

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Certified Lean Office Specialist Cynthia Marsh-Croll

Besides owning my own business, I am the program manager for the Entrepreneurial Assistance Program at the Orange County Chamber of Commerce.   One of my favorite topics we teach in class is how to compile information that can be used to make smart business decisions.  What usually comes up during class is many start-ups and existing companies know they need a tool to help them with collecting and using information but do not know where to start.  This article’s focus is the ten key factors to help you choose the right Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software for your company.

1. Before researching a CRM you will need to streamline your processes.  The software is a tool to help you work more efficiently and effectively.  In other words, choose the right tool for how you do business.  Not the other way around.
2. Generate the type of reports you will need.  If they currently do not exist create samples.  When you research options provide the software company these reports to ensure their CRM can give you this information.  If you have confidential customer information on the reports remove it before sending them to the sales man.
3. Develop a list of specific information requirements.  This is usually a detailed list of the types of screens, information, tracking, categorizing, date ranges, etc. that you will want to have daily access to as you work with the software.  This list should also be provided to the software sales person.  This will help them understand the kinds of fields they will need to provide you.
4. Check with your current professional or industry association to see if they recommend software that has been specifically designed for your type of business.  An example would be gyms, clothing stores, service companies, etc.  In most instances this will prevent you from having to pay additional charges for customization.
5. Find out if the software you are considering works with your existing programs such as Microsoft Office, Accounting Software, Email Marketing, Point of Sale, etc.
6. Does the program have mobile applications available that will work with blackberries, droids, iPhones, tablets, ipads, etc?  It is a real plus if you can get your CRM data in real time and have the ability to update contacts, customers, calendars, etc. on the road.
7. Is the software able to grow with your company?  It can be very challenging to move data management systems so try to avoid this from the beginning.  Software that can grow with you makes life easier.
8. Is it more cost effective to have the software on your equipment or use cloud based software as a service (SAaS)?  Your current and future goals should be considered when making this decision.
9. Once you narrow the choices down, test the product for at least 30 days.  Enter in some examples of your real workflow information.  Use it the way you determined in step 1. Do not put a ton of data in there; you just want to take it for a test run.  “Playing” with it will reveal any quirks or issues that were not discovered during the demo of the product.
10. When you purchase the software have all the staff that will be using the product trained.  This is not an area to cut costs.  If the staff does not know how to utilize the system they will not use it and fall back into old habits.  Thus, wasting potentially thousands of dollars.  Also purchase medium to high level support for the first year.  After that you can determine the needs of your organization.  I recommend that businesses continue technical support for as long as they have the product.  It will save you money in the long run.

The more research and work you do upfront will save you hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars.  Visit our YouTube Chanel for more information about increasing efficiency and profits through streamlining your operations.

Croll Productive Synergy has been successfully helping diverse businesses operate better and faster than their competition throughout the Hudson Valley.  By “creating the shortest path to success”,  Ms. Croll has been able to facilitate improved workflow systems, allowing clients to save time, focus on revenue generating tasks, prioritize for maximum cash flow,  effectively delegate and, consequently,  increase profits.  To learn more visit www.crollproductivesynergy.com.

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Certified Lean Office Specialist Cynthia Marsh-Croll

I have been working with many clients who have their information in a database but are unable to get the information they want or know where to find it.  Usually the culprit is a series of issues that come together to create the perfect storm of inefficiency.  The tips below will help you to prevent this storm and maximize the information in your database to increase productivity and profits.

When you are setting up your database system pay to have the company you are purchasing it from to help you do it correctly.  Garbage in – Garbage out.  If the settings and parameters are incorrect your reports will not be accurate.

1. Before you begin entering information into your database start with the end result.  What reports do you want to be able to run?  This will dictate how the information is entered.  Work with technical support to determine how best to produce your desired outcome.
2. Have all the users receive training so you can use your new tool effectively.  This will saves hours of looking for information or trying to figure out how to use the database.  Not to mention the time to fix things because it was setup incorrectly.  The trainers are the experts for the program.  Take advantage of that.
3. Understand your workflow and how you plan on using the database for streamline information flow.  Most systems come with functions that you may not use.  Determine which functions make the most sense for your company today and tomorrow.
4. Have defined naming protocols.  In other words, have procedures for how things are going to be tagged in the database.  I had a meeting with a client who was spending over 50 hours a month massaging data because the information was not uniform.  As a result, they were unable to run accurate reports.
5. Do periodic audits of the tags and reports to ensure that the information guidelines you developed in number 5 are being adhered to.  It is much easier to fix a small amount of records than hundreds once you discover there is a problem.
6. Work with marketing or your marketing consultant to analyze the information you have collected so you can run determine where your prospects come from, which customers have purchased and how you can better reach them.
7. When possible link information between your database and accounting.  This speeds up order processing and thus faster cash flow.  It also helps reduce errors.
8. Link your database and prospect collection.  Many database programs will have an add on that allows you to collect information from your website and download the person into your database.  This is ideal because it automates a prospect or customer communication and helps you track where they came from.  I use this tool for mail list collection, inquiries and seminar registration.
9. Lastly Always Purchase The Technical Support!  This will save you thousands of dollars in lost man hours.

Data management is one of the key factors in managing your customers, profits and expenses.  There are many tools that can help you be efficient and effective.  However, if they are not utilized properly they can become an information nightmare.  Understanding your database can help you effectively market to your customers, increase profits and reduce costs.   For more information on data management check out my article “Using Technology to Streamline”.

Croll Productive Synergy has been successfully helping diverse businesses operate better and faster than their competition throughout the Hudson Valley.  By “creating the shortest path to success”,  Ms. Croll has been able to facilitate improved workflow systems, allowing clients to save time, focus on revenue generating tasks, prioritize for maximum cash flow,  effectively delegate and, consequently,  increase profits.  To learn more visit www.crollproductivesynergy.com.

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Operate Better, Faster, Cheaper than Your Competition

I have mentioned in many of my articles about metrics.  Things we use to measure success and how far you are from reaching your goals.  Data is much more than that – it is a valuable tool to make solid business decisions.  It also helps you to save as well as make money.  Below are some of the metrics you can use to help grow your bottom line in 2012.

Many business owners understand it is far more cost effective to up or cross sell an existing customer than to acquire a new one.  Unfortunately, most small businesses are so busy getting new business and fulfilling the orders they do not leverage the gold mine of existing customers.  By collecting the information below you are accurately tack your current and past customers.  This can be done with a database and/or accounting system.  Both these digital tools are essential in running reports for making educated businesses decisions.

Average customer Lifetime Value

“Customer lifetime value (CLTV) is a formula that helps a marketing manager arrive at the dollar value associated with the long-term relationship with any given customer, revealing just how much a customer relationship is worth over a period of time. Understanding CLTV is a very powerful tool.  It becomes extremely useful in considering customer question processes as well as selecting optimal service levels to provide different customer groups.” (Harvard Business School Publishing)  The Harvard site has a tool that you can use to calculate this value.

This metric can help you to determine what types of customers you should be following up with now and targeting in the future.

A simple way to calculate CLTV is as follows:
Average order size is $500
Average purchases per year 3
Average customer lifetime 1.26 years
Average lifetime value ($500 x 3) x 1.26 = $1,890

Let‘s examine the components of this formula.  We need to collect: average order size, average order frequency and average customer lifetime.  Let’s look at each of these key metrics to help us determine how much our customers are worth.

1. Average order size
To complete this you will need to track your customer’s orders.  Using a bookkeeping system such as QuickBooks or Peachtree would assist you with the information you need to complete the calculation.  Make sure to take out exceptions or orders, either large or small or both, that are not the norm for your business.  Otherwise the calculation will be skewed and inaccurate.

Number of orders in Quarter 4: 60
New orders in Quarter 4: $30,000
Average order size: $30,000/60 = $500

2. Average purchases per year
This number is how many times a customer buys from you in one year.  See the example below:

Total orders in 2011: 240
Total active buyers in 2011: 80
Average purchases per year: 240/80 = 3 per year

3. Average Customer Lifetime
Average customer lifetime is how long a customer will buy from you from beginning to end.  This is calculated by determining who your inactive customers are and how long they purchased from you.  Get this data into a spreadsheet in a list format so you can calculate the lifetime for each inactive customer. You can also see if your bookkeeping software can provide you with the date for first and last order and export that information into a spreadsheet or run a customer report from within the program.

Date of last order:  1/17/2011
Date of first order: 10/15/2010
Customer lifetime:  1/17/2011 – 10/15/2010 = 457 days (1.26 years)

After you have calculated this number for all your inactive customers – calculate an average and that is your Average Customer Lifetime.

Ok so you figured all this out, now what?  How can you use this information to help grow your business?  Start with who of your current customer base is coming to the end of their lifecycle.  This would be a good opportunity to reach out to those customers and let them know how much you appreciate their business in the past and look forward to serving them in the future.  It is also an opportunity to cross or up sell them products or services to extend the lifecycle.  You are also able to survey those customers to see what other products or services they would be interested in.  Additionally, you may want to survey your inactive customers to touch base and let them know about your products and services that have been added since they last purchased from you.  Possibly bringing them back into the buyer cycle.  Reach out to only inactive customers that look like they have the potential to become active.  Some customers will only be low or single order.  In other words, make sure you are targeting the right people to get a return on your time investment.

Calculating the Customer Lifetime Value can aid in forecasting and determining your goals for 2012 and do they line up with previous sales?  What do you need to do differently to reach your goals?   Compiling these numbers will take a bit of time but are worth the effort.

There are many metrics a company can use to measure success in their business.  These are just a few.  These numbers can help you make smart decisions about marketing and customer retention.  Start with the metric that would most help you in making educated decisions and then move onto the next.  You will start to discover trends that can provide vital information on what to do next to make 2012 a prosperous year.

Croll Productive Synergy has been successfully helping diverse businesses operate better, faster and cheaper than their competition throughout the Hudson Valley.  By “creating the shortest path to success”,  Ms. Croll has been able to facilitate improved workflow systems, allowing clients to save time, focus on revenue generating tasks, prioritize for maximum cash flow,  effectively delegate and, consequently,  increase profits.  To learn more visit www.crollproductivesynergy.com.

Copyright © 2012 Cynthia Marsh-Croll, Croll Productive Synergy

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Certified Lean Office Specialist Cynthia Marsh-Croll

Many organizations today rely heavily on their technology to get things done.  This is something that will become increasingly important as we move into the future.  Those who have learned to leverage the information they have can effectively market, close sales, produce their products or services quicker and save money on maintaining those customers.  One way to achieve this is through effective reporting.

When I work with clients one area that is a challenge is accurate and effective reports.  They either get reports that are outdated or the information needs to be reworked to be accurate.  When I dig a little deeper the usual culprit is information is not being entered correctly into their system.  Everyone has heard garbage in garbage out.  I like to say correct information in money making tool out.  Here are some key areas of information you can glean in reports that will help you grow your bottom line.

1. Prospecting – There are many systems for tracking this.  If done effectively, you can produce reports that will help you convert your leads quicker and obtain a competitive edge.  While the sales people are collecting information as they communicate with your prospects you are learning about demographics, preferences, buying habits and sometimes why you lost the quote to your competition.  Now what do you do with this information?  You can produce reports to see who in the past has bought your product, why and are they still buying and compare that to your prospecting.  Are you prospecting the right target market?  Is your marketing working? (How did you hear about us?)  What is the competition doing that is causing you to lose business?  Being able to answer these questions will not only save your company money it can assist you on where to spend your advertising dollars, have a shorter sales cycle and product development.  This will translate into more customers while spending less to get them.

2. Customer Profile – Again, studying who has bought from you in the past and why is an important component of making sure you continue to meet your customers needs.  It is much easier and cheaper to maintain, cross sell or up sell an existing customer than to get a new one.  Think about when you call a large company’s customer service department they have your demographic information, previous purchases, etc.  They know how and why you buy.  This drives many areas including marketing, sales and development.  Are you growing a certain customer base?  Are there opportunities to expand in an area with your current base by offering ancillary services or expanded higher end services?  Think about who and where you buy?  Ask yourself why.  You should know the same about your customers.

3. Marketing and Advertising – Where should you spend your money that will give you the best conversion rate of transforming a prospect into customer?  Many small businesses do not have a system to track their marketing results thus wasting an absorbanent amount of money on things that do not work.  How do you know if something is effective?  Track the results.  You need to know who is buying, what are they buying, where are they buying, when are they buying, how are they buying and why are they buying.  The information you collect as you prospect and track customers will help you answer these questions so you can make informed decision about where to spend your money in the future.  Most businesses today do not have the luxury of spending their marketing and advertising budget willy nilly.  Nor would you want to.  You need to get the most leverage out of those dollars so that you are taking to the right people, at the right time and in the right place, they understand your message and are prompted to act.  Without the right information you cannot make an informed decision where to spend this money effectively.

4. Accounting and Finance – Here we have 2 main areas; accounts receivable and accounts payable.  Money coming in and money going out.  In this economic environment customers are waiting as long as possible to pay their bills.  This is affecting the cash flow of all their vendors.  This in turn is having those vendors wait longer to pay their bills.  A vicious cycle.  So you need to track who is paying you on time and who is not.  Why?  Because you want more of the kind of customers who will be paying you on time.  This may mean reviewing your target market.  Many organizations have had to shift who they are focusing on because of available business capital.  Equally important, how can you shorten the collection period on your accounts so you get your money sooner?  Some solutions can be automating the collection process, changing your billing terms or collecting partial or full prepayment.  Your bookkeeper can help you with running the reports on who owes you money.
- The other area is accounts payable.  Here is where you can find money.  Run a report on a year to year comparison on what you paid your vendors and suppliers.  Did the prices go up?  If yes, negotiate with your current vendors to change payment terms, reduce prices, etc.  You would be surprised how many companies will work with you to keep your business.  Also, it gives you the information you need to shop around if your current vendor cannot meet your needs.  Lastly, there are companies that do purchasing audits and can assist you with finding cost effective vendors.

Having accurate information to produce useful reports is one the most powerful tools in helping you make smart business decisions.  Without information all you are doing is guessing.  In today’s environment guessing can put you out of business.  It pays to put in the effort to collect accurate information because Effective Reporting Makes You Money.

Croll Productive Synergy has been successfully helping diverse businesses operate better, faster and cheaper than their competition throughout the Hudson Valley.  By “creating the shortest path to success”,  Ms. Croll has been able to facilitate improved workflow systems, allowing clients to save time, focus on revenue generating tasks, prioritize for maximum cash flow,  effectively delegate and, consequently,  increase profits.  To learn more visit www.crollproductivesynergy.com.

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Operate Better, Faster, Cheaper than Your Competition

As technology progresses it is becoming increasingly important for companies and non-profits to track their information.  In a previous article I discussed how to maximize your customer relationship management software.  This month I am going to talk about your bookkeeping system.  These two areas tend to be neglected by a new business or existing businesses using an effective system that is too difficult to maintain.  Either scenario will cost you money, time and sales.  Below are the top 10 reasons why you should use a bookkeeping system.

1. Determine if you have enough money coming in to cover all your expenses.
2. Where is most of your profit and customers coming from?
3. Determine which vendors have raised their prices so you can negotiate a better rate.  Thus control your costs.
4. Ability to create a budget so you do not spend more in an area of your business than planned for.
5. Ability to review the budget and if overspent in an area determine why and adjust for the future.
6. Create financial statements that can help you with projected sales, market trends and overall financial health of the business
7. Ability to look at your financial performance monthly, quarterly, yearly instead of just at tax time.
8. Ability to create financial statements needed for securing additional capital for expansion.
9. Reduced accountant fees.
10. Ability to delegate the bookkeeping to a professional so that you can spend more time on revenue producing activities.

When I review these items in my workshops or with clients most of this is common sense.  However, when we talk about how your bookkeeping system is not just for the IRS it is also for helping your business remain viable and sustainable they see the value of maintain accurate records.  Your past performance is an important tool in helping to determine if you are reaching your goals and objects as well as next steps.  Information is an essential part of making smart business decisions.

If you do not have a current bookkeeping system talk to your accountant about which software best suits your business’ needs.  They usually can recommend a bookkeeper to you that will work with your accountant to make sure the records are accurate and error free.  If you already have a system, see if you are using the information to its full potential in strategizing for your business.  Either way a good accounting system is a must.  For more data management articles visit www.ProductiveSynergy.biz  today.

Croll Productive Synergy has been successfully helping diverse businesses operate better, faster and cheaper than their competition throughout the Hudson Valley.  By “creating the shortest path to success”,  Ms. Croll has been able to facilitate improved workflow systems, allowing clients to save time, focus on revenue generating tasks, prioritize for maximum cash flow,  effectively delegate and, consequently,  increase profits.  To learn more visit www.crollproductivesynergy.com.

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Certified Lean Office Specialist Cynthia Marsh-Croll

As part of the new reality, organizations are doing more with less.  This translates into reduced staff, resources and in some cases office space.  This has created the necessity to examine how organizations can use technology to be more efficient.  One way is to purchase Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software.  Doing a thorough research process and testing prior to buying your system.  Once purchased, I encourage you to take the necessary steps to avoid it becoming a digital clothes hanger – aka an unused treadmill.  Here are some tips on how to avoid this dilemma for yourself.

Before deciding on a system have a well thought out selecting process which includes: requirements, report output, budget, ease of use and testing.  This is vitally important for your database to be an instrumental tool in the organization’s success.  For information on selecting the right software program read my article “Using Technology to Streamline”. 

Once you have purchased the program procedures for entering information need to be developed.  I have seen clients waste over 50 hours a month on reworking data because there were no data entry procedures.  The lack of protocols resulted in the information being unusable.  If this happens, the database becomes the clothes hanging treadmill I mentioned earlier but far more expensive.  Below are 7 tips to help avoid your database from become the digital clothes hanger.

1. Get everyone who will be using the system trained on the product.  (This should be part of the budget at purchase)
2. When training use everyday business scenarios that apply to your infrastructure.
3. Have the end in mind – how do you need to enter the information to get it out in a format that you can act on.  This Is Your Foundation.
4. Determine how your information will be categorized when entered into the system.  This will become important when you want to retrieve it for reports, sales and marketing purposes.
5. Develop protocols for how your information is going to be entered down to “is Street the full word or St”.  This may sound like overkill but if the information is not uniform it becomes useless in reports, and features within your system.
6. Document the procedures for entering information with screen shots, bullet points and examples.  This is an easy way for someone who may not be familiar with the protocols to enter information without creating errors.
7. Always keep in mind how you will use the data and be aware of changes that may need to be taken into account and update the protocol as necessary.

A database should be flexible and able to meet your organizations changing needs over time.  Purchasing the software is only the beginning of utilizing your information to sustain and grow your business.  Keeping the information accurate, organized and uniform will give you a tool that can help your organization achieve its goals today and tomorrow.  For more data management articles visit www.ProductiveSynergy.biz today.

Croll Productive Synergy has been successfully helping diverse businesses operate better, faster and cheaper than their competition throughout the Hudson Valley.  By “creating the shortest path to success”,  Ms. Croll has been able to facilitate improved workflow systems, allowing clients to save time, focus on revenue generating tasks, prioritize for maximum cash flow,  effectively delegate and, consequently,  increase profits.  To learn more visit www.crollproductivesynergy.com.

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Certified Lean Office Specialist Cynthia Marsh-Croll

Fall is tradeshow season for many businesses and if you are considering exhibiting this article is for you.  Businesses use tradeshows to acquire a large volume of leads and network with other exhibitors.  Attending a show can be very profitable.  However, to really get the most out of exhibiting, pre and post show preparing is vital.  Without this you are not likely to see a return on investment.

Below is a list of questions and suggestions to help guide you through developing an effective pre and post tradeshow plan.

PRE-SHOW
• What is the goal for having your booth at the trade show?
• What is your marketing plan to promote attendance?
• What is your sales pitch and strategy for getting people to come to your booth?
• How are you going to capture the data for future cultivation of prospects?
• What booth is the best location for your business?
• What printed materials are you going to distribute at the show?  Make this something of  value so people will keep it.  I have one I use for nonprofits that one side is a service description and the other is an article that is target specific.
• What is the deadline for getting your material to the printer?
• What promotional products are you going to purchase and the deadline to order?
• What is your raffle prize going to be? Make sure this is something that has to do with your services.  Giving away your service or a discount pre-qualifies your leads and you collect prospects who are actually interested in your service.
• What staff or assistants are you having work the booth with you?
• Finally, what is the layout of you booth going to be?  I have been told by many experts to put the table in the back and stand in front of it.  Never sit at your table, you send the message you are inaccessible.

POST-SHOW
• Block out 1 to 2 days after the show to follow up with prospects.
• How are you going to follow up with your prospects?
• Do you need to hire a temp for processing work generated from attending the show?
• Leverage current marketing mediums for follow up that do not cost additional money.  For example, if you use an email marketing service.
• How are you going to use the captured prospect information for future marketing efforts?
• Do a post mortem to see if the show was effective.  This would include what sales and relationships were generated in respect to your costs.
• Do we do this tradeshow next year?

Discussing the goals and tactics with individuals working the booth will create clear expectation of everyone’s roles the day of the tradeshow.  Talk to seasoned veterans who can fill in the gaps or give you advice on issues you did not even know existed.  Bounce your ideas off of clients who are your target for the show to see if they would visit your booth.  Tradeshows are a big investment and need to be chosen wisely as well as properly planned to get the biggest bang for your buck.

Croll Productive Synergy has been successfully helping diverse businesses create customized efficiency systems in the Hudson Valley.  By “creating the shortest path to success”,  Ms. Croll has been able to facilitate improved workflow systems, allowing clients to save time, focus on revenue generating tasks, prioritize for maximum cash flow,  effectively delegate and, consequently,  increase profits.  To learn how to operate better, faster, cheaper than your competition visit www.crollproductivesynergy.com.

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Certified Lean Office Specialist Cynthia Marsh-Croll

I was thinking of what would I like to do a little different this month for an article.  So I decided to do a video article.  Check out the video below to see 5 tips on how to use your CRM effectively.  Being that life is about being productive and balanced I taped this at home.

Join efficiency expert Cynthia Marsh-Croll of Croll Productive Synergy as she talks about the 5 ways your CRM can help you be more productive.  Click the link below to watch the educational video.  

5 Ways Your CRM Can Help You be More Productive

She covers areas such as

• data collection
• follow up
• continued contact
•  calendar 
• effectiveness

Most people only learn what they have to with most digital tools.  To really take advantage of your system watch the how to videos most CRMs supply in their help section or online.  You could have the solution and do not even know it.

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