Innovation

| March 19, 2012

Creating new processes and service takes courage.  You can do market research and determine how to design something new, or you can follow your instinct and just do it!  Innovate!  Wikipedia says innovation is, “the creation of better or more effective products, processes, services, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society. Innovation differs from invention in that innovation refers to the use of a new idea or method, whereas invention refers more directly to the creation of the idea or method itself.

A new idea doesn’t have to be a new product or service.  It could be a different way of looking at something that already exists.  Sometimes you can’t see the end result.  But you know if you don’t create some new energy and a new approach, nothing will change.  When things stay the same, competition passes you by.

So change is good.  Don’t be afraid of change.  Welcome change.  Learn how to channel the energy that change brings into positive experiences.

Innovate!  Do something different!  Do something new!  Don’t be afraid.

The Incredible Google

| February 27, 2012

We all know that Google is the most powerful search engine and perhaps the most powerful communication tool of all time.  They do incredible things and I’m grateful for their vision, engineering and design skills.  Yet they are merely human.  While trying to update my clients Google Places profile, I have found it incredibly frustrating to get someone on the phone that knows what they are doing.  In this specific instance, I’ve probably had 20 conversations with their support person.  Finally when she realized she had no idea how to reset the PIN #, she pushed me off to an open link, google/support.  Swim for it!  So I politely step back today to put this project on hold, until I re-energize my mind for another run at Google Customer Support.   Eventually I will get a new PIN for my client because Google wants to write an Adwords pay per click order.  That’s their job.  So I’ll keep trying…next week perhaps.  The message here is that even great companies fall down.  I’ll be patient and I’ll persist professionally until I reach this goal…to spend money with Google.

It’s amazing how customer service can vary.  Google me this.

Competitive Selling

| February 16, 2012

I always find it interesting when I’m preparing a proposal that will be reviewed and compared to other proposals.  Request For Proposal = RFP.  When I was in sales training full time as the Director of Sales for Apex Performance Systems, we often taught students how to navigate through an RFP.  Many times the best advice is not to submit anything.  One reason for that is because in certain circumstances, the sales person has no way to communicate the value of the proposed solution face to face.  Just submit your best plan and wait.

Recently I prepared a proposal for an RFP with the best team of trainers for that project.

There were approximately 5 bidders.  The result was that we were neither the high bidder or the low bidder.  In the end it didn’t come down to who had the best solution.  The winner was chosen because they were local.  Since the training was to support a local community and the funding was to increase sales in their community, it makes sense to a degree.  Unfortunately when decisions are made based on emotion and not logic, the outcomes should come into question.  Needless to say, we were not selected.  I wish them the best, both the community and the training/consulting company they selected.

When you get an RFP, consider the politics and emotions that will come into play when decision making time comes.

Technorati

| February 14, 2012

Technorati is the leading Blog directory.  To claim your site you need to follow the claim registration, part of which includes placing a claim token in your blog to verify user validity.

More on blog directories later.

John

Improve your Google Ranking

| January 13, 2012

I’m amazed the the steady flow of new tools and applications that Google is providing.

We are in process towards developing a service set to help small business owners understand, engage and take action towards maximizing the opportunities that Google has brought forward.  If you have time to optimize your own website, this Google SEO Starter Guide is a great reference.   If you need professional support to optimize your website contact us and we’ll meet to explain what’s involved and how we can help you move up closer to page 1.

John