The Obvious

Sometimes I wonder...."Why is that Frisbee is getting bigger?"....and then it hits me.

Managing and growing your business is really not all that difficult, if you execute on these three basic core elements:

1. It is all about consistency - one brick at a time builds a wall.

2. It is about your internal team. Super Bowls are not won by B-Team players. Recruit, train, and motivate your team to focus on your customers.

3. Measure key elements of your business and continually benchmark these and seek to improve on these.

....and then it hits me.

Free Internet Marketing

In talking with you in the last month, the question of, “Is there a FREE way to drive traffic to our landing page?” has been raised several times.

As discussed previously, there are ways to drive traffic to your landing pages without spending a dime. With the exception of our Google Ad Words Campaigns, every task and tip your SEO team has suggested is to enable you to obtain low cost or FREE Internet Marketing.

Posting accurate directory listings in Google Business Listings, Super Page, Yellow Pages, and Merchant Circle is an effective way to direct customers to your landing pages. To test the accuracy of these postings, perform searches for your business to ensure all of the information is accurate. Also, posting free classified ads increases your traffic.

The data we are accumulating indicates that the most frequent searches and traffic directed to your landing pages are inquiring about DNA Testing. Make the most of these visits to your landing pages by increasing the frequency and quality of your DNA Ads. The frequency of DNA Conversions indicates that customers are looking for information on the details of your DNA and paternity testing offerings. Try posting ads with testing details such as cost, time frame, method of testing, and accuracy.

Intangibles

As we move toward the end of the year and the tempo of the business subsides, we reflect on what is really meaningful in life. Success in business and financial pursuits is important, but not the essential ingredient in finding joy and happiness.

Over the years, my attitude on this specific concept has been intellectually understood, but my appreciation for the essence of its meaning has matured over the years. While being able to provide for your family is critical, the importance of intangibles is immeasurably more important. These include family, health, faith and purpose.

May the holidays find that you are focusing not only on the tangible aspects of joy, but the intangible.

The next posting will be on December 29th and 30th, and then resume on January 5th.

Jury Duty Scam

Every once in a while, when trying to do the right thing, mistakes can be made. This is something that a young man I know was duped into. If you are not aware, or know others who might not be aware, of this type of data mining, it might be a good idea to share this information.

This has been verified by the FBI (their link is also included below):

This is how this particular scam works. The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Give out any of this information and bingo - your identity was just stolen.

The fraud has been reported so far in 11 states, including California, Oklahoma, Illinois and Colorado . This (swindle) is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending they are with the court system. The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.

Check it out here:

FBI Warns of Jury Scam

What is Heard?

Yesterday in the blog posting, we explored a “real life” workplace example of employee relations. I do not know if you read the cartoon strip “Doonesbury” or not, but here is a recent installment.

(Note: To view the cartoon in a larger view, click on the cartoon to increase its size)



What is said and what is heard are often two different things. I have always found that it is a good idea to do as much as possible to make sure that what is said is what you intended to communicate, because what is heard is often a lot different. What is remembered can also be dramatically different than what was said, especially since as time passes, memories often fade and become very selective.

Documentation is important in all aspects of business because it is rare that there is usually no attempt to misrepresent any situation, but because of miscommunication or poor communications, misunderstanding or misinterpretation can become a big issue.

Note: Remember, to view the cartoon in a larger view, click on the cartoon to increase its size.

Stay Close to Your Competition

In the next 1-2 years, we will see "mom and pop" locations struggle because of the economy. This is an opportune time to build relationships now, because in the future your competitors will turn to the competitors they know, like and trust to service their existing client base, when they exit their businesses.

If you do not have a relationship with your competitors, you need to consider meeting them and getting to know them. It is difficult to build the trust and confidence in a distress situation.

Key Concept: Keep your competitors close to you. Visit them. Build a relationship. There is virtually no downside in doing this.

Sharing

Doug Kimball has made several suggestions about the necessity for sharing information on marketing, competition, operational insights and clients each franchisee learns about in the field. I am sure everyone agrees that this can be a powerful concept, if everyone participates in sharing ideas and best practices. The trick is execution (as it always is).

In order to facilitate this, Doug initially suggested a voice mail system that all franchisees would call into and leave a message about an idea, a best practice, leads, competitors, etc. After researching this solution, it proved to be too costly.

Not giving up, Doug recently suggested that we use the forums on FranConnect. I think this is a great idea and fully support this concept.

FranConnect has the following forums: Training, Marketing, Product Support, DrugPak, Field Operations and Competition. If you want to participate with Doug in sharing ideas, everyone should go to FranConnect and register for notifications for postings on each of these forums. After each post to one of these forums, you will be notified by email of a new post.

If you have questions on this process on posting, please do not hesitate in giving John Lipp a call.

Targets

Jeff and Hastings in Sacramento landed a couple of new clients recently – a roofer and a solar installation company. Since we are entering the rainy season, Jeff suggests it might not be a bad idea to target these types of companies. Roofers have one of the highest workmen compensation rates and anything they can do to create a safer work environment has an impact on the bottom line.

Jeff and Carol are also working on what could turn out to be a whale client in the assisted living and nursing home market segment. See Eskaton Communities & Programs.

As I have said before, acquiring new clients is all about numbers. If you spend time in the office, you are not in front of potential clients and cannot win new business. Being in the office doing work, regardless of the seeming importance of that work – even if the things you are doing are an effort to obtain new clients – detracts from time in front of clients or in networking activities, and should be done before or after business hours. Business hours should be spent meeting, greeting, networking, selling and presenting. End of stump speech #1243.

Uniformity

Uniformity in franchising is a critical part of marketing. “Eat Fresh” is the positioning statement for Subway. The Golden Arches means McDonalds. All franchise systems require uniformity in order to gain a competitive edge over local competitors and to communicate oneness.

Try this. Go to Google Maps website and search “AccuDiagnostics CA”. The search produces five listings with different AccuDiagnostics logos displayed.

In order to maintain uniformity, please log into your Google account and update the first photo in your account (photos are displayed in order of uploading, i.e., the first uploaded photo is the one that is displayed on your listing) to the AccuDiagnostics Logo that has been provided. Upload as many pictures as you like, but set up the first picture as the AccuDiagnostics logo. This logo can be found on FranConnect/library/CAMPA-Western Region/Photos & Logos.

As you continually post to new directories and review existing directory listings, use the logo that has been provided.

DNA Search Data Proves Useful

SEO is an ongoing effort. There is no idle time. If you relax your efforts, the competition will rank higher than you.

In addition to the daily maintenance of your adwords account and SEO efforts, your SEO Team tracks and collects data to help enhance your performance.

Most recently, your SEO Team optimized your Landing Page content and data to reflect more in-depth information in regards to DNA Testing Services. SEO and AdWord results validate that DNA Testing is a highly searched term on the Internet. AccuDiagnostics receives a high volume of DNA testing search inquiries.

Since we know from our data that DNA is an active area of Internet search, it is important to keep your classified ad current. Be sure to include in the text of these ads, keywords relevant to DNA Testing such as: ancestry, infidelity, genealogy, and paternity. As always, be consistent with updating expired ads as well.

Regional CAMPA Meeting Planned

The first 2009 Regional CAMPA meeting is scheduled at the Sacramento Regional Training Center on January 17-18, 2009. The meeting will begin on January 17th at 10:30 am and end at 6:00 pm. Dinner will be at 7:15 pm.

and ending at 1:00 pm. All franchisees are invited, as well as Lab Techs. Lab Techs may attend the Saturday meeting and return home the evening of January 17th. The Sunday meeting is for franchisees only.

December’s CAMPA Conference Call is scheduled for Thursday, December 18th at 8:00 am. The call in information is 312-878-0202, Access Code 238-973-043, Audio Code 45#. The agenda for this meeting will be to discuss the CAMPA Regional Meeting topics. We have Bill Judge joining the meeting to discuss drug policies development, review, and the marketing of these services.

Other topics for consideration:

• DOT training program for the region
• DOT training venues, i.e., in person, webinars, conference calls, manuals, video, etc.
• Google AdWord campaign 2009 budget and program.
• Field Sales and Operations Support for 2009
• Audits for 2009 and implementation of procedures
• Leslie Allen presentation on DOT Auditing
• DrugPak training for 2009
• AccuDiagnostics.com Website review
• Practice Management
• Other topics

If you have questions prior to our conference call on December 17th at 8:00 am, please do not hesitate in giving me a call at 925-376-2900, x 201.

Securetec Drugwipes Found For Sale Online

Q: Every once in a while I do a competitive test to see what online sources are charging for drug testing products. Securetec Drugwipes were found on Ebay for $14.99 a test. Is this authorized by Securetec? --asked by Carol Hastings.

A: Sherry Diehl from Securetec replied: Yes, we are aware of this listing…it is unauthorized. An agency in Missouri had Drugwipes which were close to the expiration date. This firm decided to list them on eBay. They have been notified to remove the listing as we do not authorize any on-line sales of Drugwipe.

Q&A’s are posted on FranConnect/Support/FAQ/Products

Upcoming Audit

As we approach the end of the year, the first financial and procedural audit will be performed. You will be receiving a call from Cameron Shafie in the next week. He will provide you with a list of things that need to be done in order to prepare for the audit.

The audit has three purposes:

1. Verify the financial information and reconcile your books.

2. Assist you in properly closing the books at year end and prepare your financial information for submission to your CPA or Tax Accountant.

3. Accumulate data and information to prepare recommendations for standardizing the accounting and operational systems, in order to ensure that all locations are uniform in their operational procedures. Over time this will greatly increase our ability to benchmark and improve profitability.

The audit will begin in early January and should be completed by the end of January. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate in giving me a call.

Circling Back Around

Doug Kimball has been calling on companies that he talked to several months ago and bringing information that he thought might be of interest to them. The strategy is to get in front of the decision makers again to re-emphasize our value proposition of “better, cheaper, faster”.

With several of these companies that he re-established contact, Doug has moved them to the next step, signed some and is close to signing others as clients. A catch phrase that has worked for Doug is: “What would your boss think if you could save 20%”. This grabs the attention of the person he is talking to – for obvious reasons.

Is it time you called back on some of the sales calls you have made in the last few months?

Downturns in the Economy Represents Opportunity

In every economic downturn, many businesses shrink, and some go out of business. While this may be grim news for some, a shakeout can spell opportunity for the survivors. For companies that are on top of their game and react quickly, economically challenging times make well managed companies stronger, and in the future, puts them in a much stronger position to compete and dominate.

Tactics that Spell Success

1. Look to gain market share by reacting quickly to better serve existing customers.
2. Selling is better than ever in a downturn. Potential customers who wouldn't have picked up the phone a year ago will hear you out and be open to competitive quotes. However, to capitalize on this – you need to spend time in the field selling. When the fish are biting, it is time to fish.
3. By knowing customers and offering the right product/service at the right price, and then promoting these differentiators in a down economy, is an opportunity to attract new business by bringing value to your clients.
4. Differentiation is more vital when the economy is soft. Offer value by bundling services. This may mean a small gross margin, but is well worth the effort.
5. Service counts extra during a downturn. By focusing on customer service to keep existing clients, you protect them against price poachers. This will put you in a position to up sell in more stable times in the future.
6. You have to make an impression with new customers. This starts with product knowledge and understanding the customer's needs.
7. Keep an eye on expenses and act sooner rather than later to manage costs.

Downturns are a part of economic cycles. The best way to weather a downturn is to form a realistic plan. While it's tempting to hope for improved economic conditions, "hope is not a strategy." Most importantly, do not get caught in the “black hole” of operations, because it is tempting to be pennywise and pound foolish and cut back too much, leaving the franchisee doing all of the “work work” of the business. Remember your job description: business development director. Remember….top line revenue solves almost any problem.

Staying focused on selling new customers and servicing existing ones is the key to prospering during a downturn.

DOT Training

Nearly three weeks ago, we began a process to provide a DOT program and to establish a format for ongoing training needs. The last discussion on this topic was a conference call discussing the contents of a DOT program, the need for a training process, and what should be included in this training. Our assignment was to provide each franchise location with a written list of items to be included in the DOT program which John Lipp subsequently sent to each of you. Once this list is returned by all locations, all of the items will be put into a summary list of training subjects and criteria will be developed for the ongoing training.

The next step is to decide on a training format and a training schedule.

We discussed a January Regional Training to be held on January 17-18th in Sacramento, in order to begin this training program, followed up with Webinars, if necessary. We need to know if this is something that everyone wants and will attend. We have a deadline for the scheduling of this meeting, because of travel schedules, by this Thursday, December 4th, at 5:00 pm. If you would like to have this type of training session on this date, please drop me an email with your thoughts at mstorm@accudiagnostics.com or give me a call at my office at 925-376-2900, x 201.

If these dates do not work, we can always schedule alternative dates. However, I have Mr. Judge scheduled for this time window and he may or may not be available at another time. We can also hold this training via Webinars, in which Mr. Judge would host.