The DIY Plan

To hire a person themselves, they would have to find someone who wanted to work part time, making cold contacts via the telephone to a list of prospects. They would have to write scripts themselves and train the person on how to follow the script without sounding stilted. They would have to manage that person’s time, come up with a payment system for the person, and stay in regular contact. They would also need to devise a way to share the leads with the rest of the team. Further, they mentioned that they might want to turn this person into a full time sales person, and listed that as one reason to hire someone themselves. There are probably more steps, and a lot of details to figure out. This would take a lot of meetings, weeks to get everything in place, and then probably several more weeks to find a person, train them, and get them started. And, in the end, there would be no guarantee that the person would be good at the job or want to keep doing it. There also would be no guarantee that, if they were good at making calls, they would also be good at being a sales rep.

The Professional Option

Now, let’s consider what would happen if they hired a specialized firm that already was staffed and knew how to make these kinds of phone calls. First, they would need to interview several firms to find one that could give them a personalized approach. Once they found a firm, the experts there could help them craft a script and to put together a plan. Compensation would already be in place. Training would already be done. They could be up and running with the phone calls in a very short amount of time, with minimal meetings to figure out the details.

Think about Cost of Implementation

In this case, it seems pretty clear what should be done. But, to be fair, either approach could work. When you are faced with a decision like this, where you could be right either way, it is a good idea to pay attention to implementation. If one plan is going to take a lot longer than another, choose the simpler one.

Of course, there is always another consideration, which is cost. Often, we are tempted to walk the more complicated path because that is the only way to do it ourselves. And we think doing things ourselves saves money. In the example above, cost was a primary consideration. The simple plan would cost a few thousand to implement. The DIY plan? Well, there was no hefty price tag right on the package, so it seemed like it would be cheaper. But would it?

The Myth of Cheap

The fact is DIY is often not cheaper than hiring a specialist. Sure, you can trade off paying in dollars for paying in time, but the time you spend to walk the complicated DIY path could cost your business a lot of money in the long run. Your time has a monetary value right now; say $50 to $100 an hour. But it also has a monetary value for the future. An hour spent trying to juggle an extra task means you didn’t spend that hour doing some other essential thing in your business. There is a ripple effect that hurts your earning potential, sometimes for years to come.

The simple plan may have a big ugly price tag on it up front. But let’s look once more at our example. In this case, the plan is to bring in more leads, which will lead pretty quickly to more business. The simple plan costs a few thousand up front, but the moment it starts it also starts bringing in leads. It is a case where every dollar spent will lead to more dollars earned. The complex plan, the DIY efforts, will take a lot of time to implement. There may not be any reward right away, but there will be both time and money invested.

Think About Desired Results

When you are trying to decide what path to take, it is important to consider more than the price tag. Compare price against results. Also consider the hidden costs of DIY. Look at long term impact, as well as the immediate impact a quick implementation would have on your bottom line. Walking the simpler path means that you are not tying up more of your time than is necessary. It means that money spent is going directly to solve a problem. It is the straightest possible path to your goal. If your goal is good and it will benefit your business, don’t let a price tag stand in your way. Get to the results you need as quickly as possible.

In architecture there is a mantra that says form must follow function. Function, in this case, is unglamorous things, such as the foundation, the ease of access, building code, etc. Form is the artistic element of architecture. The most beautiful and bizarre buildings only work because they also function like a building.

In business, the same mantra holds true. If you want your small business to be a success, to be loved by customers and praised by reporters, you first need all of the elements of a good business. In fact, you can never become a great business until you learn how to function like one.

Function Defined

The function of your business is groundwork for everything else. This is the beliefs, ideals, systems, and procedures of your business. In function, you define why your business exists as well as how it will accomplish its goals. In some cases, it is the minutiae of your existence. But building good systems should never be viewed as boring work. A well-run system is what will catapult you past the competition and into your customers’ hearts.

Function includes such things as:

• Your company vision statement
• Your sales system
• Your CRM
• Your key metrics
• Your marketing strategy
• Your goals

Form Defined

The form of your business is what others see. In a well-run business, customers will never notice the systems or procedures, they will just benefit from them. Function is there solely to support form.

Form includes such things as:

• Customer experience
• Whimsy in your ad campaign
• A sales rep who personally delivers a time-sensitive product
• Handling a difficult customer with compassion
• Having a vibrant employee culture

None of these things will happen if you have not made them possible by focusing on the right function.

Where This Will Get You

You need to have patience to build the best business you can. Let’s say that you, as business owner, are great at giving customer service over the phone. When a customer talks to you, they walk away from the conversation feeling great. Your form is beautiful. But it doesn’t seem to be working so well with the new customer service rep. Sure, he’s capable, but customers aren’t being wowed. Suddenly, your form is suffering.

This will happen when you put form in front of function. Continue to do this, and you will run into frustration after frustration. You will never be able to hire people who can do the job as well as you. You won’t be able to scale, because the bigger you get the more of that personal touch you lose. But if you put function first, you would observe yourself on the phone. What makes you so good at it? You would build a system and training around that, and would have the new recruit up to speed in no time. Now you have duplicated your form, and will be able to do it again and again. Form follows function.

In the end, this will put in you in a position to grow your business and maintain its beauty at the same time. You can’t just hope that form will stick. You need to build things to make sure it does.

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photo credit: Jaume Meneses

Every business should be built to scale. In other words, you want to have the ability in place to grow rapidly, even if you are currently a small operation. I think that being able to scale means you have to take measures right now to make it possible later. Here are just a few ideas that you can implement today to make scaling easier in the future.

Use a Wiki to Document All Business Procedures

Having your business procedures and systems well-documented is a key step for scaling. A wiki is simply a software tool that makes it easy to document information. You can give out access to the wiki to key employees so they can document their own procedures. You can then review procedures yourself and make changes. Even if you are the only employee, starting with a wiki will make it easy for future employees to access procedures and upgrade them along the way.

Hire an Accountant Early

It is important to hire the right people all throughout your growth as a business, but one of the most important hires is an accountant. You don’t have to bring one in full time. Just find an accountant who understands business and can help move yours forward. Understanding the numbers will help you make the right choices as you go along, and having a firm financial foundation to your business will make it very scalable.

Record All Training

Anytime you do any kind of training, record it. I don’t care if you write it down or use the family video camera. Just make a record of it. That way the next time you need to train, it will be more streamlined and consistent. Plus, if you take off and grow really fast, you will already have important training materials in place and will not have to personally be there every time.

Learn How to Measure

This is a big one. What you want to do is find the measurements that speak to your business’s health and wellness. Watch a few key metrics to spot troubling trends and to help you keep the business on track. This habit will become especially important as you get more removed from the daily grind. Determining what to measure takes trial and error. For one business, it may be number of leads in the pipeline. For another, it may be online conversion rate. For a third, it could possibly be the number of walk-ins at the store. It is important to find the measurements that most directly relate to future success (so last month’s sales numbers aren’t always the most helpful). There is some good advice on this topic in Mike Michalowicz’s The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.

Incorporate

Yes, it costs money. But protecting your business with a legal entity, a corporation, S corp, or LLC, is the right move. In rare cases a partnership makes sense (an LLC will probably be better), but avoid staying a sole proprietor for too long. By making your business a legal entity, you get the legal protection of separation from your personal finances and liabilities. There are also many financial and tax advantages. This is something you need in place if you are ever going to scale your business. I suggest reading Incorporate and Grow Rich to learn more about the options and benefits.

Maintain a Database

Your business runs on information. The less information that is stuck in your head, the better off your business will be. I already mentioned cataloging procedures and training. You really should catalog everything. The main use of a database is to store customer information. Get in the habit early of recording everything. This includes emails, phone conversations, preferences, and more. Build up strong information about your customers.

For this, you will want to use a CRM, which stands for customer relationship manager. A good one will help you maintain information on your customers and sales without too much hassle. I recommend Batchbook.

Systematize Relationships

This may sound cold, but it is in your customer’s best interests. It also goes hand in hand with using a CRM. You need to find a way to maintain a personal touch with customers, no matter how large you grow. So build in things like customer surveys, thank you notes, social media connections, etc. Take a look at how you handle customer relationships now and work to improve on it while also building a system to maintain your approach no matter how large you grow. One of the worst casualties you can have if you grow fast is your customer service. Building systems now will ensure that you maintain good relationships as you move forward. A good book on this topic is Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit.

Segment Responsibilities

Early on, you do all of the jobs. Maybe now you have a handful of people doing multiple jobs. You can’t just go out and hire everyone you would like to hire right away. What you can do is start to map out responsibilities. Create the job position before you fill it. If you handle five different things, start to think of them as five different jobs. Come up with descriptions for each job. As you grow, you will be able to easily plug people in, as well as separate yourself from the job. Without planning this out, there will be bumps in the road as you figure out responsibilities after your hire. Check out E-Myth Revisited for great advice on this topic.

That is my short list of business scaling ideas for small business. What can you add? Has this inspired you to make any changes in your business?

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Photo by Steve Brandon

Improved Access

Almost anything you do as a small business owner can be done faster, better, and cheaper today. This includes all areas of running your business, things like scheduling, sales, paying bills, getting paid, marketing, and accounting. When you need to find a new market, research a product, or cut costs, there are answers available all over the internet.

One of the biggest, and fastest growing, areas of information is data about your customers. Thanks to social media, web sites, blogs, and more, you can gain a vast amount of intel on current and prospective customers. All of that information can help you better serve your customers and book more sales.

Staying On Top of Information

All of this is good, but what if you are already struggling to stay afloat? Chances are, you have a hard time keeping your email inbox clear and responding to phone calls. What business do you have wading into the sea of information on sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn?

The thing is, you almost have to. Not because its cool or anything. Communication simply must follow the customer. And if you have customers using online tools to communicate, you better be right there with them engaging with them in conversation.

Two Tools that Help

The problem is simply overload. What small business owners need is a way to sort information and stay on top of it. I am not sure if there is already a great solution for this. Two companies come to mind who are making it easier. The first is Batchbook, which is the company I use for CRM. It is possible to keep track of things like Twitter and Facebook feeds right within the contact window on Batchbook. They need to make it a little easier, but they have a great start.

The other company is Gist. Gist lets you search for your contact’s online feeds and activities. It can automatically collect some information on a contact, such as their Twitter account, and then feed it into a communication page for that person. What Gist lacks is a robust contact management system.

More Features

If Gist and Batchbook got married, it might be the perfect answer for all of our information channeling needs. I would add some more key features, such as being able to search your contact feeds for certain keywords and then highlighting that information in a dashboard. That way, when a customer or contact is talking about a need you can fulfill, you can reach out to them. Another ideal feature would be a conversation scheduler. Say you wanted to reach out to a certain customer once a month. You could receive a reminder along with a recap of what they have been saying on social networks, along with news about them or their company. You might also receive links to blogs or news stories that relate in some way to what they have been talking about. In this way, you could reach out very personally to your contacts.

The point here is simple. We, as small business owners, need better ways to manage all of this information. The company that gets information management right will win in the end. That means understanding how relationships work. All of these new apps and networks are great, but for us business owners, its all about the sorting and staying on top of the relationships.

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Hello, I’m Bradford Shimp. I spend a lot of time thinking, studying, and living small business. You can hire me for youronline marketing needs at www.BroadRiverCreative.com. Be sure to check out the podcast here at All Business Answers.

photo credit: Blyzz

Do you answer the phone yourself at your business? What do you do when you are on the job, or just too busy to answer the phone when it rings? Do you just let it go to voicemail?

You may not be ready to hire a receptionist. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need one. It is very important to answer the phone promptly and professionally. If your calls go to voicemail, there are two dangers.

First, maybe the person will not leave a voice mail. If they were calling  your business trying to get a quote or information, chances are good that they are calling around. If they do not leave a message, you have no way to get back to them. And if they get a good enough answer from another business, you have lost them entirely.

The other bad thing that happens with voicemail is that you forget to return the call quickly enough. As a small business owner, it is easy to get so wrapped up in your job that days go by before you know it. When you do finally get back to the caller, it might be too late.

If you can have a human answering your phone whenever it rings, or at least during normal business hours, you should. And here’s the thing, you do not have to hire a full time receptionist to do it.

There are a couple of ways to go about it. First, you can hire a virtual assistant. This person can answer the phone from their own office. You just need to set up a system to forward calls. Good systems allow you to control when to forward calls, and may even allow you to forward them after so many rings. This means you can set it up to answer the calls yourself when you are not too busy.

The second option is to hire a receptionist company. The great thing here is that they can answer the phone 24/7.  You simply need to set up scripts for the service to use. You can even set it up so they can answer basic questions and so they know when to forward the call directly to you or to take a message. These services can be very affordable. One I used in the past started at only $80 per month then a few cents per call.

With affordable options available, you really have no excuse to let your calls just go to voicemail. Start doing some research and find an alternative that will work well for your business as you grow.

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Hello, my name is Bradford Shimp. Check out my web design services at BroadRiverCreative.com.

photo credit: mangpages

We all know that we should have an emergency plan in case of a fire. And even though a house fire is highly unlikely, we all have fire alarms in our house. With nearly as many businesses closing each year as there are businesses opening, it is important to have an escape plan.

While it is true that sometimes the worst happens and it seems your business goes up in flames, often businesses suffer a slower death, or owners just decide to walk away. The fact is, you should have an escape plan in place from day one of your business. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that things will eventually grow to a size where you can take out a retirement or whatever else you want from the business. Instead, craft the business from the get go so you can take what you need from it and you won’t be destroyed if it comes crashing down.

Take a Profit

The first thing you need to focus on is profit. You want to build a profitable business from the start. The only sure way to do this is to commit to taking a real profit out of the business. If you don’t do this, you will probably play things too close and operate on a razor thin margin. Commit to taking a profit, and you will quickly see if you are bringing in enough sales, if the profit margin is high enough, and if your overhead is in line.

Your profit is not your paycheck. A paycheck is what you get for doing the day to day work. It is what you would have to pay someone else if you can no longer work, or don’t want to. If the money you are taking out of the business goes away after you stop working, then it is not a profit. And if you aren’t bringing in any additional profit, you aren’t yet in business. You just employ yourself.

A profit is a percentage of income. For each check that comes in, you need to be able to take a percentage out. You pick the percentage. Start low if you must, but build it up to a healthy number, maybe around 20%. Remember, this is not greed. This is not robbing your business, either. If you can maintain a healthy profit, then your business is healthy too.

Some of your profit can go back into your business. The rest needs to go to you for non-business related things. Start an IRA, for goodness sake. Don’t borrow money from yourself after you get things going. And if you have to, don’t borrow it from your profit. You should be taking baby steps forward, not leaps backward. Protect your profit and you will protect your business. You’ll also have something to show for it if things go horribly wrong, or if you decide it is time to retire.

Protect Your Assets

The sooner you incorporate, the better. Incorporation can protect you from frivolous lawsuits, help you with tax burden, and put up a wall between you and your business. If things go south with the business, you will have a better ability to hang on to your own wealth and assets. This could mean the difference between keeping or losing your house, so it is important.

There a several different ways to incorporate, all with unique advantages. Contact an expert, or research it out yourself. I suggest the book, Incorporate and Grow Rich, as a good starting point.

Protect Your Data

Sometimes, real disasters happen. Are you safe if your building catches on fire for real? What about a computer hard drive failure? You need to make sure you have access to all of your vital business data, in case of an emergency. The best way to do this is to make sure you are backing up your data off site. I have used a service called Carbonite to do this, and it is very easy.

The other thing you can look into is using online software instead of onsite software. If you use an online CRM, such as Batchbook, to store your customer data, you will be able to access it even if you need to get a new computer, or if your business gets hit by a meteor. I suggest doing your own hard back ups of any data you store with online services, just in case. But a reputable software company usually does a far better job protecting and keeping your data than you do.

Insurance

Double check all of your insurance policies. Are you protected to the hilt in case of an emergency? You should be. Your business is your livelihood, after all. Talk to an expert about what kind of insurance you need. Pretty early on, if you own your business, you need to think about things like disability insurance and health insurance. Cover yourself as well as your business.

Structure

Finally, sometimes you want to leave your business even when it is doing fine. This is called retirement, and it doesn’t matter how old you are. Always be ready to retire. This means, build a business that you can hand over. You can’t hand over a business if you are paying yourself half the going rate for your job. If you can’t get any profit out of your business while you run it, you can’t expect to get a profit out of it after you bring on someone else to run it. Thinking of selling? The better your structure, the better your systems, and most importantly, the better your profit and cash flow, the more likely you are to get a good price.

So the stronger your business is, the easier it is to walk away from it. If it can go on without you and you can still bring in a profit from it, you are golden.

You don’t want to have to run screaming from your business. Plan now. Put things in place that will let you walk away with something, whether you leave a crumbled and bankrupt business or a healthy and strong one. Don’t bet everything on future success. Make way for profit right away. And always prepare for worst. That way, you will be secure.

photo credit: laurenatclemson

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Bradford Shimp helps small businesses build better web sites at BroadRiverCreative.com.

photo credit: Damian Morys Fotos

If you think of your business as a car, you probably want it to be something like a Lamborghini. These are beautiful, high performance machines that attract a lot of attention. What you see on the outside is a thing of beauty.

With business, the outside is the intersection between customers and the business. For the most part, its the only thing customers ever see. This includes sales, customer service, marketing, and of course the product or service.

Its important to have a good face for customers to see and interact with. However, if all you ever focus on in your business is this interaction, you will be neglecting some very important elements.

For all the beauty of a Lamborghini, what makes it truly special is not on the outside. Design elements are easy. What is important is what is on the inside.

photo credit: telephoto46

The engine of the Lamborghini makes it pretty special. Imagine a Lamborghini with a lawnmower engine. It just wouldn’t be the same.

However, many small business owners try to run an outstanding organization on a rickety, slapped together engine. You make customers your number one priority and make promises to them and yourself to be the best. But if you always focus on being the best at the intersection of customer and business, you will never be able to be your actual best. In order to do that, you have to commit to building systems on which your business can run smoothly and achieve the results that you desire.

Don’t try to run a Lamborghini business on a lawnmower engine. Focus a good portion of your time on the insides of your business. This means building systems for everything.

As you built your business up, you probably went about this backward. You made promises to customers, then figured out how to make them happen. You may still do it. If you ever have problem maintaining a new change to your business, it is because you haven’t built the platform for it first. By throwing one new thing on top of another over the years, you have created a junkyard engine that is giving you just barely enough juice to stay in business.

If you want success, real and measurable results, you need to swap out the slapped together systems of your business for a new, powerful, success engine.

Here are some things effected by the engine inside your business.

• Efficiency
• Profitability
• Employee Satisfaction
• Time Management
• Product/Service Development and Implementation

This list could go on. The fact is, good systems have a positive impact on every part of your business. So, instead of trying to put more shine on your business, why not add some muscle under the hood?

Building systems takes time and hard work. You need to look at every single part of your business. My wife’s uncle has a business restoring old Ford Mustangs. When he rebuilds a car, he takes it all apart. Down to every last screw. As he does, he catalogs the process and identifies the purpose of each part.

If you do this with your business, you will be able to identify parts that are defective, other parts that aren’t performing like they are supposed to, and probably more than a handful of parts that you don’t even need. Go over everything carefully. Fix and improve each aspect of your business. Build simple systems for every job, every interaction, and for every piece of paperwork.

As you do this, always keep the customer in mind. You are fine tuning, or rather overhauling, so you can have an engine with which to really serve them better. Future promises should come from what you know you can accomplish. Future goals should be reached for not with hope, but with knowledge. You need to know your business intimately and be able to quickly identify any parts that aren’t working properly. In the end, you are a highly specialized mechanic, able to fix just one car, your business. Get good at it. Build and then maintain a real engine for success within your business.

Want to know more? Have specific questions? Ask below in the comments section.

When you get a complaint, what you do with it is important. A customer complaint is an opportunity to learn and make your business better, and to develop loyalty with customers. Or, if you like, its an opportunity to be selfish, to blame others, and to hide under a rock.

Too often complaints are viewed as anomalies and ignored. This shouldn’t be the case. Every complaint should be deconstructed and analysed, not to see if there is a flaw in the complaint, but to see if there is a flaw in your business. Even complaints from bad customers are important. They can highlight cracks in your organization. They may just highlight the fact that you are not doing a good enough job finding the right customer. But that is a real problem that needs a real solution.

You need to have a process for dealing with complaints. It could look something like this:

1. Receive the complaint with humility. You’re not perfect, so no need to pretend that you are.
2. Personally apologize to the customer. As an active small business owner, you should deal with complaints personally. Larger businesses should have as high up a person as possible dealing with complaints.
3. Make it better. Talk to the customer and see how you can make it better. Let the customer lead you here. Each person will be a little different. For instance, some will want their money back, while others will want a replacement. Find out the customer’s specific need and take responsibility for filling it.
4. Analyse the issue. Problems don’t happen in a vacuum. It doesn’t matter if you never received that particular complaint before, it is still a valid complaint for that person. Think through what happened and figure out what went wrong. Don’t overreact, but don’t under-react either. Here’s an example. Maybe the customer’s complaint was that your price was too high for the quality of the product. If you have never heard this complaint before, don’t rush out and change the price of the product. Instead, you may need to look at how that customer got sold, what he was promised, etc. Maybe the problem isn’t in your price, but in your selling promises.
5. Fix the problem. You need to be proactive in fixing complaint causing issues. Yes, make the customer feel better. But that alone doesn’t cause the problem not to happen again. Establish a culture in your company where mistakes are not accepted, but where everyone takes responsibility for them and works together to make sure they don’t happen again. Don’t be afraid to dig in to the root causes of the complaint. It will probably turn out that the problem lies in something different than the surface issue. If you don’t dig, you may just dismiss the complaint as something out of your control. But nothing is out of your control in the business. Dig, and you may find issues in training, in vendor selection, in quality control, in attitudes and culture, or in any number of areas. In fact, the complaint may be a godsend because it will help you discover a hairline crack that will cause you nothing but trouble when you put the weight of growth on it.

A complaint can be a wonderful thing, if it is leveraged properly. Too often, you never hear the grumblings of a customer. It takes a special kind of person to confront you with your mistake. Don’t dismiss this person as a trouble maker. For every loud complainer, there are a number of quite grumblers. So embrace the complaint and fix it on the level of the customer and also within your business, no matter how deep you have to dig. Your business will benefit.

Hint: Use Toyota’s Five Whys. Keep asking why did this happen until you reach the root of the problem. When you think you have found the answer, be sure to ask one more why. For instance, you may think you have found that an employee is the problem. But why did the employee make the mistake? Was there inadequate training? Or if the employee is truly a bad apple, then why is she working for you. If you don’t dig deep enough, the problems will just reoccur. And please remember, as a business owner, every problem will eventually be traced back to you. Be humble and willing to grow.

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Bradford Shimp helps small businesses navigate the web and bring in more leads at BroadRiverCreative.com

Here are some thoughts on creating a back up of your data.

On Site Back Up

It is pretty easy these days to buy an external hard drive and do a regular back up. In fact, most hard drives that you can buy come with some kind of back up program. Even so, a lot of small businesses don’t have any kind of on site back up plan that involves an external hard disk or even CD back ups.

For this plan, I purchased a portable hard drive with 500GB of storage. The one I chose was a Seagate FreeAgent. I also bought a dock for it so I could easily plug it in to the main computer.

Backing up data to an external hard drive is very easy. After you plug the hard drive in to your computer, usually via USB, a new disk will be created. You can access this disk by going to “My Computer” on a Windows computer. Think of the disk as one big folder. You can put whatever you want in that folder, at least until you run out of space on the hard drive.

What I do is open the disk on my computer and then open the C: drive folder separately from “My Computer.” Then, I simply copy and paste the files I need over into the hard drive’s folder.

You should back up information you have created and want to keep. You don’t have to worry as much about the programs, usually. You should have a separate plan for keeping software disks and license keys safe in case you need to start with a brand new computer. Most of what you need to back up will be in your documents and pictures folders. Be sure to think through all of your important data, find out where it is stored on your computer, and back it up regularly.

You can also use the hard drive’s automatic back up software. This is a program that will allow you to choose which files to back up, and will then schedule the back up. The problem you will have to solve is when to schedule the back up. You don’t necessarily want the back up to happen while you are working, as it may slow the computer. On the other hand, you want to store the hard drive somewhere safe overnight, and not leave it plugged in to the computer. Perhaps you can find a time during the day when the computer is not being used heavily.

Keep the External Hard Drive Safe

It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to go to all of the trouble of backing up your data onto an external hard drive, and then just leaving that hard drive sitting next to your computer. Sure, it will be there in case of computer melt down, the most common way to lose files. But what about fire or theft? Consider taking your external hard drive home with you every night, and/or storing it in a fireproof safe. A couple of extra steps now could save you a lot of problems later.

You should also have a redundant back up plan, which I will discuss below.

Multiple Computers

Keeping one computer backed up is pretty easy. Its when you have multiple computers with your small business that you get into trouble. There are several ways to manage this. You could require everyone to back up their own computers. However, with different levels of computer proficiency, this may be easier said than done. You could set up each computer with its own hard drive and automatic back up plan. This works great if you have the money to buy multiple external hard drives and if you have someone placing those drives in a secure location at the end of every work day. You will also need to regularly check your back up plans to make sure new information is getting backed up properly.

If you are on a budget, you can do all of the back up with one portable hard drive. Simply plan a day every week for your back up. Visit each of the computers and copy and paste the files you want backed up. If you have just a handful of computers, this should work just fine for you. Alternately, if you are on a network, you can access the files you need from one computer and save a few steps.

Information in the Cloud

More and more small businesses are using online software programs. I highly support this practice. Using an online CRM, for instance, makes sharing and accessibility so much easier. When it comes to backing up, having your data online (or in “the cloud”) is generally beneficial. If your computer goes down, you will be able to access your information immediately from another computer.

It is my opinion that a good online software provider has a better back up plan and security plan than most small businesses. However, if you are going to institute your own back up plan, it would not hurt to create a back up of the information you have online as well.

How you back up the information you have stored in the cloud will depend on what program you are using. Many online software programs will have an export option. All you need to do is export the data on a regular basis and save it to your computer or external hard drive. Then work it in to your regular back up plan.

Making a Schedule

A back up plan is only useful if you do it regularly. An old back up will not do you a whole lot of good in an emergency. So, create a schedule to do your back up on at least a weekly basis. Depending on your business and the amount of information you generate, you may need to do it even more often.

If you are time crunched, you can schedule automatic back ups on all of your computers. The only thing you would need to do physically would be to store the hard drive or drives in a fireproof safe each evening and export any information from the cloud and/or other computers.

Online Back Up

In addition to backing up to external hard drives, you should also back up your data online. You can back up one computer for around $50 a year at sites like Carbonite and Mozy. Best case scenario would be to have an online back up plan for each of your computers. The nice thing about online back up is that it is automatic. With Carbonite, your computer will be set to always back up whenever there is new information or changes.

With online back up, you do not have to worry about storing hard drives in a fireproof safe. Your back up will be accessible online if you lose access to your computer.

If you want to have a complete plan, you can do both physical back up and online back up. It is okay, even favorable, to be redundant in your back up procedures. By spending a little money and time, you can ensure that you will be able to keep your business running smoothly, even in the case of an emergency.

Have a Small Business Question? Ask me and I will answer it here – email me with your question now.

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Bradford Shimp is the publisher of All Biz Answers. He is also the co-creator of Idea Anglers, a place to see your ideas come to life through collaboration. Follow on Twitter @bradfordshimp. Let Bradford help you with your business – visit BroadRiverCreative.com

1. Have a Good CRM

Having all of your customer information together in one place is essential. A good CRM is accessible, no matter where you are. It is easy to use. It also should integrate with your other tools, such as email and invoicing. Use your CRM as more than a file cabinet. Learn to interact with it on a daily basis. Send your emails out from there. Record your phone conversations there.

Make use of tasks and to-dos for each customer. Every customer in your CRM should have an upcoming task, even if they are not currently in the sales process. Schedule several points of contact throughout the year. When you make a contact, be sure to add another point for later on. Stay on top of this and you will never forget a customer again.

2. Stay in Contact with a Regular Email

If you don’t email your customer list regularly because you are afraid you might annoy them, you are crazy. The simple solution to that is, don’t be annoying. Its not don’t send email. Instead, send emails that will be useful and enjoyed by your customer list. Be personal, informative, educational, funny, etc. Don’t send sales pitch after sales pitch. The idea of the regular email is to keep the conversation going and the relationship warm so that when you need to do a sales pitch, you will have ready and willing ears.

3. Have a Follow Up Plan

What do you do with a customer after you make the sale? This is the best time to establish a long term relationship and to make additional sales. Yet, many companies have no follow up plan.

You could start by sending a nice thank you. Large sales can even get a gift. From there, get them into your email system. Get them special offers for add-on products or services. Whatever you do, don’t ignore them. Someone who just bought from you is your most qualified customer.

There are three things you should try to get from a customer who just purchased. Another sale, a referral, and a testimonial. Start tapping into the potential with a good follow-up plan.

4. Have a Reason to Get on the Phone 4 Times a Year

While automated emails and other points of contact are great, you also want to make sure that you maintain a personal touch with your customers. If you can, go ahead and visit your customers. A little face time can go a long way. If not, try to do at least 4 phone calls a year. You may want to call your customers on their birthdays. Another idea is to offer a special discount over the phone. Even if you have a lot of customers, you can call a few each week with the special discount offer.

You can also plan some service phone calls. You could do a survey. Heck, it doesn’t hurt to just call to say hi. The point is, finding a reason to get on the phone with your customers is not that hard. You just need to plan it and do it. This will only help you reinforce your relationship. You will also have a better chance at noticing any issues that may be driving a wedge between you and your customer. And if you are on the phone with them, you can deal with it right away.

If you look up from the grind and find that you are missing customers, start implementing these steps right away. No customer deserves to be ignored.

photo credit: Commutr

Have a Small Business Question? Ask me and I will answer it here – email me with your question now.

Get Unique Content Weekly with The Letter

–

Bradford Shimp is the publisher of All Biz Answers. He is also the co-creator of Idea Anglers, a place to see your ideas come to life through collaboration. Follow on Twitter @bradfordshimp. Let Bradford help you with your business – visit BroadRiverCreative.com