Sally Kintz - Poole Communications

I just received another email that had a WORD document attached. When I opened the WORD document it had a few sentences that could have easily been put in the body of the email. It takes time to open attachments. Recipients might not have the program you sent the attachment in. I especially hate PowerPoint attachments because they take so long to open. I’m encouraging everyone to think just a little bit before they send an email or an attachment. Here are five easy tips:

1. Use the subject line. Make it informative and change it if the email’s topic changes.

2. Keep your emails brief. Research has shown that six sentences is a maximum. Get to the point.

3. Be kind. An email can be easily misunderstood. Take extra effort to be kind and say something friendly.

4. Provide contact information. This enables the recipient to call, email or check out your website.

5. Use a pdf, png or jpeg attachment format. They can be quickly opened and read by almost anyone.

We’re all being asked to do more in less time. Let’s make the world a little easier and communicate clearly.

It’s time to take a close hard look at your voice mail system. If you don’t have one – don’t worry. I think you’re actually in better shape than most companies with a voicemail system! How many times have you tried to call a business and got stuck in Voicemail Purgatory? Last week I called a local station that I call frequently. I have a new sales rep and could not get to him. The phone system was overloaded with calls and asked me to type in his last name. I had no idea how to spell his last name. I needed something right away and this was aggravating – and I know their system! Think of how a new customer would have felt dealing with this same issue.

This week call your own office and listen carefully. I’m sure there’s something you can do to make your voice mail system work better. Your customers should be able to reach you quickly and easily. Don’t ask them to go to a menu or type in your last name or call another phone number. It’s dumb. It stops you from making a sale and is poor customer service. Rethink your voicemail system and seriously consider a warm live voice instead of a machine.

I have been learning to prune grape vines. The simple part is to cut off branches that are not producing and allow space between branches. The hard part is this time of year there are grapes on the vine and some of those need to be pruned as well. It takes years for the vines to grow and produce grapes. The last thing in the world you want to do is trim vines that have clusters of grapes on them. But you have to. Pruning makes the remaining vines stronger and the remaining grapes more flavorful by putting more energy into the remaining grapes. Eventually the wine made from those grapes will (hypothetically) taste that much better. (IF you can manage to make some decent wine from the grapes.)

While I've been outside pruning in the vineyard, I've had plenty of time to think. I've thought about what the Bible says about pruning:

Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit." John 15:2

I decided I needed to take a lesson in life from this pruning process as well.

So I've begun to prune things from my life. Unnecessary clothing, furniture and clutter in my house. Getting rid of books that I know I will never read again or simply were not good. I've realized I'm never going to use two sets of dishes. I'm keeping what I really love and letting the rest go. It's been a satisfying process.

I'm pruning at work as well. Not only am I streamlining the office and processes, I'm saying no to things that I don't have a passion for. I'm delegating more and working on my business more. I'm working with customers I enjoy and on projects that excite me. My work is better and my customers are happier. I've found a lot more satisfaction and fulfillment at work.

Sometimes there are people in your life that need to be pruned too. A really good friendship takes a lot of time. With the hours I work, I don't have a lot of time. The people I do spend time with are very important to me. They are people I love, trust and enjoy. By spending time with those special people, my life has been so much more rich and full. I've learned about them and love them more. I've had time to organize a special birthday party for a good friend. I've had time to call my mom and brother more frequently.

I've been able to learn to prune grapevines and thoughtfully apply that pruning lesson to the rest of my life as well. Having quiet time to think in a beautiful place has been a wonderful gift. Will pruning your life make it more fruitful too?

Sally just got done reading Manage Your Day-To-Day. The subtitle of this book is Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus and Sharpen Your Mind, edited by Jocelyn K. Glei. Here's some of the best business take-aways from the book:

If you find you've been working hard and hardly getting ahead, this book is for you. It focuses on how our work day and work world has changed. Too often we're reacting and not working on our daily to-do list. The first thing to do is schedule your creative work first and schedule it at a time when you work best. This may take a little time to find - but instinctively you may know this already. Set routines and stick to them. If a project isn't complete one day, calendar it and move it to the next day. Your capacity is limited. Schedule your renewal or "sharpen the saw" time. Stick to it. Schedule thinking time or alone time to plan. Plan blocks of time to work - calendar it and stick to it. Stop multi-tasking - it doesn't work. Work on one project at a time, focus and finish it. Understand your temptations and resist them. In other words stay off Facebook and quit texting. Keep your workspace organized. Protect your DO NOTHING time. Your brain needs some R&R. Send really short emails. There is magic in a six-word email. Schedule your social media time and use it effectively to promote your business. Sally does hers at the same time she's updating client posts. Sometimes your soul needs to rest - take a long break from being connected. Finally, stop thinking everything must be perfect. We are human. Only God is perfect.
Get the work done, do your very best and let it go.

"The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say 'no' to almost everything." – Warren Buffet

- What time they check Facebook, what content they’re interested in.
- Target those specific people who ‘liked’ your page.

Knowing your audience will help your business tremendously down the road. It’s not enough to have a great product these days. You need to find those people who are your target audience and know what they want to see, their interests, likes and dislikes.

2. Engage with Your Audience
- Make posts specifically to your target group.

Once you’ve figured out their likes and dislikes, it’s time to put your knowledge to work.
Think about it - a follower is more likely to like or share a post if it is relevant to them or if they find it to be something they can stand behind.

Once you have figured out your target market and how to get their attention, you need to keep it! Keep up on your social media; it shouldn’t be on autopilot for too long. Notice when someone comments on a post of yours or better yet, shares your post. Respond to your audience; people like to know that who they’re following is responsive and actually cares about them.

In short, nobody likes to be ignored. If people comment on your post or have questions, acknowledge them! It’s easy to become automated with managing your Facebook, but don’t forget that Customer Satisfaction still rules and will go further than any boosted post ever will.

4. Customization
You can schedule when your FB status is posted weeks and months in advance, specifically to better fit your customers' schedules. When you go to make a status update there is a drop down box next to the "Post" button that gives you an option to schedule your posting. Use this free trick to optimize your social media!

5. Boost
You can also use the “Boost” button, which places your posts higher in the News Feed, so there’s a better chance your audience will see them. Although there is a charge to boost, but you can choose your own budget. The more you put towards your budget, the higher your boost.

In ten chapters our author pulls together a masterful process to super-charge your business plan with real world tools for accomplishing your goals. It is a collection of step by step instructions to help you master the challenges which have been making you pull your hair out as you struggle over and over again to resolve troublesome issues once and for all.

This method is based on the “EOS” or Entrepreneurial Operating System. It begins with “Letting Go of the Vine” which is to say, you need to be prepared to do things new ways to get new results.

The next step establishes a base point with a review of your company using eight key questions. The questions ask you to rate your company on a scale of 1 to 5 on topics ranging from whether you have a clear vision in writing which is shared by everyone to whether your leadership team is open and honest and demonstrates a high degree of trust. Some of the questions are straightforward such as whether you have an organizational chart or whether you have a method of monitoring your budget regularly. The goal is to be able to rate your company very high after implementation of the EOS processes.

Our author then moves through the different essential parts which make up any business including people, data, issues (or problems), core processes and action items which all result in traction. The experience gained from many years of working with hundreds of different companies who have received excellent results using this system is encouragement enough that these are universal concepts. The author speaks of working with companies as small as a dozen employees and as large as thousands of employees.

Some of the key concepts of EOS include:
1) Downloadable forms and templates for developing a visual representation of where you stand now and where you want to go.
2) Simple processes for determining if you have the right people in the right seats and a method to make sure you maintain the best fits.
3) Methods for establishing an organizational chart which also includes essential responsibilities.
4) Rocks or personal responsibility goals which help everyone in the company know exactly what they need to do to make sure they are doing their part to keep the company on track to reach its goals.
5) A scorecard for each employee to set reasonable but critical goals and track progress to move the company forward.
6) A Level 10 Meeting Agenda which all but guarantees that meetings are productive and results driven.

Poole Communications has implemented many of the concepts presented in “Traction” and are encouraged by the results the process is yielding. Typically it takes a year or so to become fully comfortable with the system and master it, but positive results can be seen as quickly as the first quarter of implementation.

Some of the processes were already in place for us but Gino Wickman has shed some light on ways to improve our results as well as our bottom line as we move toward a more profitable and efficient company able to serve many more clients while keeping our quality high.

Today I've read another book and will outline it so you can benefit from it without reading it. However, that being said, I'm a firm believer in reading and life long learning. I encourage you to do the same. You may learn more and different things than I did.

Today's book is How To Make Big Money In Your Own Small Business by Jeffery J. Fox. This small book is packed full of good advice and is subtitled Unexpected Rules Every Small Business Owner Needs To Know. The number of small businesses is growing in our country and across the world. In the United States many women are starting businesses - more often than men. Small business helps create most of the innovative new products and services in our country. Here are 25 tips from the book to help you grow and manage your business more profitably:

For more information on Jeffery Fox's book, see here: http://www.amazon.com/Make-Money-Your-Small-Business/dp/0786868252

How do select color when you plan the design of your logo and marketing materials? Do you generally select just what you like? If so, you might consider putting more thought into your color choices.

Studies have shown that a product’s color influences 60-80% of a customer’s purchasing decision – meaning that color can make or break a product. Color is the first thing a consumer will notice about your logo.

On both a conscious and subconscious level colors convey meaning. The use of color can bring your marketing materials multiple layers of meaning. You can use these meanings to underline and accent your branding messages.

Bright, bold colors are attention grabbing but can appear brash. Muted tones are more sophisticated, but can be overlooked.

Colors can be divided into two categories: warm – which are associated with energy; and cold – which are more about calmness and security.

We've created a cheat sheet for you to download with colors and their associated meanings. These are not rigid rules, but they’re worth keeping in mind. It’s also important to consider the global appeal of your color choices – especially if you’re a global brand. For instance, in China red is considered lucky, while in India white is the color of mourning and death.

In addition to the color cheat sheet, we’ve also included a color contrast guide displaying 18 color combinations that have been tested for visibility at various distances by the OAAA.

Think about your message and choose your colors carefully to portray your company’s image.

3. Write in a concise, news-style with the most important information first and the least important information last. When editors cut an article, they cut from the bottom.

4. Find a photo that complements your release. It is much more likely to be printed with a photo.

5. Include your complete contact information: name, title, business, address, phone, email, website. The media needs to be able to get in touch with you to do a larger story if they have time and space. Make it easy for them.

6. Find the right person to send the press release to. You can usually find this on the media's website.

7. Send that person an email with the press release in the email and attach a PDF or WORD document of the release too.

8. Realize that you may have to send the press release more than once. Editors are busy people and your release will only be publicized if there is space or time. This week might be too full of news to print your release, but next week might be great.

If you need help writing and sending press releases, give Poole Communications a call at 800-900-3635. We'd be happy to help.