One Habit Harming Your Business

I’m going to share the most vital of business tip I can – you have a bad habit. In fact, most entrepreneurs do. I had to become aware of this bad habit, which is why I am passing it on to you. Once you become aware of this habit then you can start to work on breaking it.

So, what’s the habit? Living in the past. Yes, the past. You see, dwelling in the past keeps you from moving forward. It is important that you do whatever it takes to bury the past so you can come into the now. You can’t think about mistakes or should’ves. You really have to focus on planning to move forward and think about possibilities.

People who live in the past or judge the present based on how they have experienced the past tend to be dreamers, not do’ers. It is important that you are both. I use to live in the past. I thought about all the money and time wasted learning lessons and thought how impossible it seemed for me to move forward. Then, one day, after realizing that I was frozen by my past , I decided to dive right into my future. I worked on shrugging off irrational fears of what could happen again and made a plan to move forward and prevent these things from happening again. I didn’t become glued to past results, I worked on moving forward because of the past results.

If you can learn to move forward from the past, you will be successful. There is no question in my mind about this strategy. So, I ask you today, what about your past is making you fearful about moving forward today? Whatever it is, address it and then figure out a plan to move beyond it.

Until tomorrow,

Velma Trayham

Bad PR Moves

I was recently speaking with a client who had a terrible idea. I had to break the news and that is always hard. So, what was the idea? Sending gift bags to the local media. Not only is this a huge waste of money and time, it violates many ethical boundaries on the journalist’s end and the publicist’s end.  The intention was never to bribe the media with the gift bags, just get their attention. So, when does a gift turn into a bribe and a bad PR move? Well, anything over $25 dollars defines the line.

Yes, professionally, the IRS allows “gifts” to be under $25 if directly related to your specific industry. You can buy gifts for clients if the presents are under twenty-five dollars.  The PRSA seems to agree with the IRS. So, gift cards for coffee or lunch are ok, but expensive gift bags aren’t. Let’s say a journalist accepts the gift bag. Let’s say the journalist honestly likes your story- and covers it. Let’s say that a competitor finds this out. He or she can single handily ruin the reporter’s career, the media outlet’s brand and your reputation as a publicist. Now, was that media get worth it? Of course not!

So, on a Tuesday, ask yourself what your worst PR move has been and hopefully it doesn’t include well-intended bribes.  If so, don’t make this mistake again. Get your media obtained by actually earning it, not buying it.

Until tomorrow,

Coco the CEO

The cost of negativity – firing a client.

Last week I touched a bit on firing a client and a few basic reasons why and how to do this. Today, however, I want to talk about weighing the costs. Most people become emotional about firing a client. They think it’s going to harm the client or their own reputation.

Any smart business owner adds a Terms of Service agreement onto their invoices. These Terms of Service agreements not only show your client what guidelines and expectations come with working alongside and hiring your firm, but they also include social media and online review protections that can allow you to sue your client should you fire them and they become hostile.

Chip Bell, who is a Customer Loyalty Consultant and best-selling author, recently wrote “Business owners may anticipate having to replace lost revenue or fear potential negative word-of-mouth that might ensue from severing their ties with a client. This often keeps them from lowering the boom on highly toxic or bottom-line-eroding customers. And in the viral world, the word-of-mouth concern should definitely be figured into the decision.”

Money is often a concern, along with reputation management, when firing a client. You can replace a contract. You can’t replace your sanity or the amount you may lose because of a toxic client. If you have a client who requires too much of your time, other clients may leave your company. Is it easier to replace one client or many? The answer is pretty simple.

Chip Bell states, “Customers should be encouraged to exit for one of three reasons: They’re costing you too much financially, taking a steep emotional toll or violating a key value of the organization.”  Think about the client you may want to fire. Think about what I said and then think about the three steps Mr. Bell just listed. Now,  can you really afford to keep this client? 

Negativity and finances are always a good reason to part ways.

Until tomorrow,

Coco the CEO