Promote Your OnBine business

"In business, the competition will bite you if you keep running. If you stand still, they will swallow you." -WILLIAM NUDSEN JR
Your online business gives you the opportunity to sell products/services cost effectively anywhere in the world but your competition has the same opportunity. You should be forward thinking always seeking to improve on your strength against the competition. Seek out new opportunities and devise strategies to take advantage of these opportunities so that your online business will stay ahead.
Attract prospects/customers
Online customers have so much choice of websites,products,services and suppliers this is why you should spend some time,effort and money to attract customers/prospects.One of the most effective ways to attract people is the search engines. Over 70% of online visitors use the search engines;and a huge percentage of these people are buyers.One of your objective in to get listed on the search engines,to make this happen you need to make the pages on your website search friendly.
Follow these tips to make your pages search frendly;
1. Insert meta description tags and meta keyword tags between the head tags of your webpage:
* your title tag should be between 5 and 12 words-it must contain your best keywords and also describe your site
* meta description tags should be between 5 and 20 words
* meta keyword tags should be between 0 and 50 words
2. you should use keywords three or four times in the body of your webpage
3. Submit your website to search engines- add your site to the major search engines/directories and monitor results. Only resubmit if your site does not get listed. You can use automatic tools or you can hand-submit to each site. The latter approach takes more time but at least you can be sure your site has been submitted!

High Cost of 'Not Doing

9/11, 2001 has hit a whole lot of business. But the most badly hit was air industry. US airlines were virtually on the ground for most of time rather than in the sky. As old adage says. Planes are safer at the ground. But they are built to fly and that where they should be all the time. Almost whole aircraft industry was badly hit by being grounded. Million of jobs evaporated and billion of dollar went under drain. All these were due to not doing anything.

Peter Drucker, in his book 'Managing for result' defines the cost point in the whole supply chain.

1. Productivity cost

2. Support cost

3. Policing

4. Waste or Idle time.

Drucker accept that to some point all three cost centre productivity cost, support cost, policing cost are imperative to any business. It takes massive investment to produce something and market it successfully. A corner cutting here and there can be welcomed but you can't remove any of these three cost centre at all.

But waste rarely needs to be analyzed. It is usually quite clear that this or that cost cannot produce results; whether we can do anything about it is another thing.

But waste is very hard to find.

These fact are hidden the accounts book only. The normal available account will not show this. You need to dig hard to find these unacceptable costs to your product and services,

In it services industry or any knowledge intensive industry, major concern of any top management people in 2001 was the bench period. As industry defines it as a time when your know ledge worker are sitting idle in the absence of project. This cost awesome money to any organization and pull it into big trouble. Lucent technology faces the similar effect in 2001-02.

Although to avoid these waste effort and tools are totally outside of conventional approach to cost control and cost cutting. They required major, prolonged efforts, but the fact is most cost cutting, let alone the across-the-board cut, does not even touch waste. Yet, in business waste is real cost centre. It required a lot of systematic planning and organized effort to recognize a waste in the supply chain and get rid of it.

Host a Successful Fundraiser

Hosting a successful fundraiser is no accident. It requires planning, commitment, and more than a little bit of salesmanship. If this sounds like a lot of work, make no mistake about it, it is. But it's rewarding work, it's meaningful work, and done the right way, it can be fun work. Fundraisers present wonderful opportunities to generate both income and good will for your organization, to raise community awareness for your cause, and to create a sense of camaraderie within your group. These tips are designed to help your organization get the most from your fundraiser, in every sense of the word.
When planning your fundraiser, the first question to ask is "when?" Timing is very important and depending on the kind of fundraiser you want to hold, certain times of the year of the year are better than others. The fall and spring, with their temperate weather, are wonderful seasons if you're going door-to-door, having a bake sale, or holding a car wash.
If you're tying into a specific event like an Oktoberfest or school fair, then the dates are predetermined, but if you're opting for the brochure or "pre-sales" method, you have some flexibility over your schedule. Generally speaking, a two-week period is ideal - anything longer than that tends to be counterproductive. Avoid times that coincide with school holidays when people may be out of town. Not only do you want to have a lot of people around to buy your product, you want to be sure that you'll have plenty of volunteers on hand to help.
Once you've decided when, the question becomes "what to sell?" Selecting the product for your group to sell is in itself an art form and there are many factors to consider. Who are your expected customers? What image do you want to convey? If you're a sports team, perhaps you want to choose a healthy product. If you're raising funds for Juvenile Diabetes then obviously, you don't want to pick candy. Of course, there are several generic products that appeal to almost everyone, such as popcorn, gift wrap, coffee or citrus. Often an answer is suggested by the season - spring bulbs, Halloween pumpkins, or Christmas trees or ornaments are excellent seasonal fundraising items.
The decision of what to sell goes hand-in-hand with "what company should you choose to provide the product?" This can seem overwhelming at first - search the Web for fundraising companies and you'll get over 3 million pages to sort through, and sadly, not all of these companies are reliable. Get referrals from other groups if possible, or consult unaffiliated, information driven websites like the Fund Raising Ideas Center for more ideas and advice.
Advance promotion is a key element of any successful fundraiser. A week or two before the actual selling begins, start spreading the word. Send letters home to parents and ask them to network on your behalf. Utilize the media - almost every outlet has some version of a Public Service Announcement that they offer free of charge. Put up posters where it is allowed (but be sure to take them down when your event is over).
When you are ready to begin selling, it's time to "rally the troops". Hold a kick-off session during which you explain the financial and tangible goals - "We need to raise $5000 for new uniforms. That breaks down to X-amount of sales per person." Make sure that the tangible reason (the new uniforms, the trip to Paris, the care packages for troops stationed overseas) is part of the sales pitch. If you're working with a fundraising company that offers to send a representative to explain the finer points of selling, then by all means take them up on it!
During the fundraiser, monitor the progress and keep everyone updated. Offer incentives to the person or team that sells the most. It's almost a cliché, but the "rising mercury in a thermometer" tote board is a visual tool that really works!
When the actual selling is over, there are still a few things to do. If you've opted for a pre-sales version of the fundraiser, you have to place the order with the company and arrange a time for the goods to be delivered. Make sure you schedule enough people to unload and distribute the product, and have a plan for dealing with damaged merchandise or incorrect orders. As far as getting the goods to your customer, deliver them in person whenever possible. A personal thank-you note from the student is a wonderful touch and will give your customer a nice, warm feeling that will carry over until the next event.

Five Ways to Improve Your Bottom Line

"A penny saved is a penny earned", the old adage attributed to Ben Franklin, only tells half of the story. A penny saved is really better than a penny earned, because you don't have to pay taxes on it. Here, then, are some time-honored ways for you to save money and improve the bottom line for just about any business:

1. Review and Update Your Business Goals

Many people are adept at staying very busy while accomplishing nothing of value. Don't fall into this trap--and, if you do--dig out as quickly as possible.

In order to succeed, you must set clear goals. If you have employees, those goals also need to be communicated to them. While there are many good and noble goals you can set for your business, one of the most profitable that I often ask myself is "what can I do that will make the most money the fastest?"

This doesn't mean that other goals such as contributing to good causes or providing excellent customer service aren't important. If you don't provide excellent customer service you won't be in business very long anyway. But goals can often be clarified by setting them in order, and determining which will bring the quickest, most long-lasting financial results to your business is a great place to start.

2. Find your Niche and Develop a Competitive Edge

While it's hard to compete with the "big boys", there is plenty of room for small businesses to find their competitive niche. My competitive niche happens to be log furniture. While there is competition in that niche, I don't have to compete with the "big boys" such as Walmart when it comes to selling log furniture. Tracking down Amish suppliers on lonely country roads, developing relationships with those suppliers, picking up, packing and shipping log furniture just isn't part of their business plan. And it probably never will be.

Your niche will probably be something different than shipping log beds, but you can be sure that there is a niche open to you. The key is to find the profitable activity that your business does best, and focus on that.

3. Hire Superior Employees Who Share Your Company Culture

If your business is large enough to require employees, be careful who you choose. In my experience, it's better to pay more for top-notch employees who won't require daily baby-sitting, than to nickel and dime it with job-hoppers who are perpetually unmotivated, late to work, or enmeshed in personal problems so deep that they can't perform their job.

Everybody goes through difficult times in their life, and you need to be sensitive to that. Your company will be miles ahead, however, if you can find employees with the emotional energy to buy into your vision and get excited about their jobs.

You can find, develop and keep that kind of employee by investing significant amounts of time to recruiting and training. Make sure your compensation package is attractive, and, if at all possible, offer health insurance. Incentive compensation or profit-sharing plans can also be quite helpful in motivating employees to previously unheard of heights of achievement.

4. Standandize and Simplify your Procedures

It's amazing how much time developing a simple form can save a company. The more people involved in your business, the more important it is that you have a set of standard procedures to follow. This will reduce training time when employee turnover occurs, lower the chance of errors, and increase efficiency in all aspects of your business.

5. Measure the Results of Your Efforts

Company and personal goals need to be quantified to determine if the desired results are being achieved. Key areas of measurement include the cost, quality, quantity and timeliness of work to be done. Each of these areas can have a profound impact on the bottom line of a business.

Cost: It goes without saying that if two Amish furniture suppliers offer similar quality, furniture design and delivery timing--but one is substantially lower in cost than the other, I go with the lower cost supplier. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but not many.

Quality: Quality is everything in most businesses, and log furniture is no exception. I'm not the least bit interested in shipping defective furniture from Michigan to California and back again, all because a customer wasn't happy. That is a total waste of money, and hits the bottom line directly. This is why we are such sticklers about quality control, and why it's been nearly four years since a customer even thought of returning an item.

Quantity: Generally speaking, if you sell more, you make more. This is certainly the case with rustic furniture suites, especially with the high cost of shipping today. As a result, our website is focused around selling larger orders. We're always happy when somebody orders a log bed, but we try to make it appealing for them to buy a nightstand and dresser too, by offering truly significant discounts. Regardless of your business, you can likely do the same. It's generally easier to sell more product to an already existing customer, than to go and find new customers.

Timeliness: Late deliveries cost money--at least they do in our business. It costs money to overnight packages that could have been sent by UPS ground or the postal service. It costs big money to expedite pallets of furniture. In addition, there is the stress, hassle and disorganization that comes with rushing around to do things at the last minute. This is why I try to leave a timing "cushion" in every furniture order I process. Regardless of what you're selling, you should too.

Marketing To Non-Marketable Customer

Buzz marketing, also known as 'word-of-mouth marketing', 'guerrilla marketing' or 'stealth marketing' is an art of human kind to involve the trendsetters in any community to carry the brand's message, thus creating an interest in, and a demand for, the brand with no overt advertising.
Nirmalya Kumar, professor of marketing, director of center for marketing and co-director of A.V. Birla India at London Business School.
When Dietrich Mateschitz formulated the drink "Red Bull" in 1987 for Australian market, bars initially refused to stock it, seeing it as more of a medicinal drink than a mixer. However snowboarders and clubbers soon recognized the boost it gave them. They started to bring it with them to non - alcohol bars and pubs.
Red Bull has mastered the buzz marketing. In the 8 sales area in US, the representative scouts for the hot spot. They distributed their branded refrigerator and some goodies to the bars and clubs. If other conventional establishments ask for Red Bull, they refuse them to retain the credibility and uniqueness of their community and clubbers. To connect this community, Red Bull use to organize a two - week annual music festival.
Red Bull first marketing technique was to distribute and target the teenagers and college goers. They went where these guys goes. Then Red Bull went around the cities full of Red Bull cars and distributed the drinks to anybody who need energy- Free, the construction workers, Athletes and all.
Coke and Pepsi recognized a new segmentation of their market and tried to capture it with big marketing budget. They created energy drinks. But after millions of write off they are distance number 3 and 4. Red Bull is still the king of energy drink with 65% of market and that is with the fraction of their spending.
Five years back on internet, Google started it operation in the dorm of two Stanford guys (You do not need to know there name, I guess) they created a system for search and marketed it on net with minimal of advertising. End result, after 3 years they become numro uno in search - marketing in the presence of heavy spenders like Yahoo, overture etc
That the power of Buzz marketing. Gone are the days when you write a Cheque for your ad agency and agency will do the marketing. According to Philip Kotler, advertising is a lazy way of marketing and branding. You outsource almost everything, even your brand's undergarments. Traditional marketer thinks that job is over. But buzz marketing is an engaging art of marketing. It is a hard way to market a product and services. Most of marketers do not like it. Because they like their comfortable air-condition rooms.
But in real world, you can't close your eyes and think that your competitor will take pity on you. They are here to eliminate you. Buzz marketing is not a passé' anymore. It is here and happening.
CEOs, be aware, if your people are saying they need different budget for branding, marketing and sales. Think again, someone is not ready to move his butts.

Incorporating Tips

Capitalizing a new business entity is a critical step of the formation process. Failing to take the step can lead to serious legal problems if the entity is ever sued. So, what is capitalization and what steps must be taken?

Capitalizing Your Corporation

"Capitalization" essentially refers to funding your corporation. In essence, you are providing substance to the entity in the form of money or property. Typically, the funding process works in two ways.

Corporate Stock

You must own stock in a corporation to be considered a shareholder. You are already familiar with this concept if you trade on the stock market. For instance, assume you bought stock in Sirius Radio in anticipation of Howard Stern moving to the station. You purchased stock through a brokerage or retirement vehicle by exchanging money for shares. Technically, you are a shareholder in the corporation. Your own corporation is no different.

The fact that you paid money to have a corporation formed does not make you a shareholder. You must exchange property, cash or services to obtain stock from the entity. Only then are you a shareholder in the entity. This is more easily explained with an example.

Assume I start a corporation for the purpose of providing consulting services to other businesses. The corporation is formed with 10,000 shares and I am going to be the sole shareholder. I have cash and certain assets that I am going to use as part of the business. I decide to exchange $3,000, a copier, fax machine and computer equipment for stock in the entity. This exchange should be reduced to writing, but will constitute the capitalization of the corporation.

Corporate Loan

You can also loan money to a corporate entity for start-up costs. There is no prohibition against a shareholder providing money to a corporation. The loan process should not completely replace the purchase of stock. From a tax perspective, however, dividing your initial capitalization into a partial loan can have distinct advantages.

Inadequate Capitalization

State laws govern the formation of a corporation. Inevitably, these laws set forth amounts or formulas for determining the minimum capitalization amount required for a corporation. You must review the laws in your state to determine the amount and make sure you meet the contribution minimums.

Failure to properly capitalize you corporation can result in disaster if the entity is ever sued. Simply put, the suing party may argue that the lack of capitalization means the corporation was never a viable entity because it had insufficient funds to back debt obligations. The argument gets complicated, but suffice to say you are in serious trouble if a court agrees with the argument. Typically, the court will "set aside" the corporate entity, exposing each shareholder, director and officer to the risk of personal liability.
Obviously, such a scenario would be a disaster.

Choosing an Intimate Conference Venue

So you're looking for a conference venue? Not the size of the Taj Mahal, but something just as impressive. A venue with the right amount of space, flexible catering, including accommodation and the right facilities.
This is where the elegance, style and the intimate nature of an independently owned hotel works well as a conference venue. These venues add their unique character and extraordinary service to your event. Finding the perfect environment sets the necessary tone, playing an important part in achieving your desired outcome.
Whether you're hosting a meeting, conference, workshop, training course or social occasion here are a few things to look for in a hotel venue.
Space,
Does the hotel have the space you require? Whether the focus of your event is a meeting, banquet or an exhibit, space can be the a factor that is usually underestimated.
Avoid hiring a venue that is big enough to seat 200 when you're only hosting a 20-person meeting. You only want to consider venues that can handle the event you're planning. It is advisable to schedule a visit with your potential host prior to the event ensuring the venue meets your space requirements.
In the case of an event where the number of guests is uncertain, make sure there are sufficient break-away rooms to avoid congestion.
Catering
Bear in mind that catering needs to meet the special dietary requirements of your guests. Hotels have a flexible menu and unlike a catering company, the kitchen is at hand when you need it.
Conference Styles
Check to see if the hotel can host various conference styles including a theatre for presentations, a classroom with a blackboard, a reception area and of course a boardroom.
Location
Find a centrally located venue, close to stations and some of the areas main attractions as well as being within easy reach of the airport. With easy access by rail, tube or road, your guests will arrive for your event in good time and ready for the day you have planned.
Equipment
Small details like air-conditioning make a huge difference. It helps a great deal if the hotel is equipped with latest audio-visual facilities, this way you can avoid lugging around your own equipment or having to rent from a supplier.
Another thing to check for is high-speed Internet or wireless Internet.
Accommodation
The one drawback with venues like convention or conference centres, is that you would need to use a nearby hotel for accommodation. If your event is extended by more than one day, a hotel becomes rather convenient. Depending on the number of guests, most hotels will provide a discount on accommodation.
The hallmark of an independently owned hotel is the unique ambience provided by the venue. Staging an event in the right setting is conducive to a receptive audience. The wrong venue, whether inappropriately large, under serviced or under equipped, can have undesirable results.
Consider one of your local hotels the next time you host an event.

Buying a Franchise

The concept of franchising is a couple of centuries old. The franchising business and world economies have developed simultaneously. The term 'franchise' comes from old French where it meant freedom, or privilege. Franchising goes back to the feudal times when the feudal lords granted permission to their slaves and common men to hold fairs, markets, ferries, and even allowed hunting on their lands.

In the middle ages, kings used the concept of franchising when they gave contracts, or franchises for most of the commercial activities like developing roads, wells, and brewing ale.

As the concept of franchising developed further, it was seen as the right to monopoly that a person got to perform any kind of a commercial activity. As time passed, several franchises became a part of the European Common Law.

Singer Sewing Machine Company is considered to be the father figure of franchising as most of the concepts of franchising developed by them, form a part of modern day franchising contracts.

The way in which Singer made its sales and provided services is considered to be modern retailing that is a part of franchising. In the 1850s, Singer brought together teams of salesmen and dealers who were given the rights to distribute sewing machines in different regions. They made written contracts for franchising, which are the basis of modern-day franchise agreements.

At this point in time franchising was seen as the right granted by the manufacturer to sell and distribute products and service to the franchisee. Big oil refineries, automobile manufacturers, and many others also started following the concept of signing written agreements for franchisee distribution.

Proper business format franchising came into being, in the United States and other countries of the world, after World War II. This was the time when soldiers returned from the war to be back with their families and the baby boom took place because of which different and newer products and services became essential.

This was when the concept of franchising developed the most. It made its presence felt in the U.S. economy. This was also the time when most of the hotels and motels developed. With the increase in the number of franchises, the 60s and 70s saw a time when every second person was into the franchising business.

The decades of 60s and 70s also brought about a number of frauds in the franchising business. There were people who duped many others by taking money from them in return for a franchisee that did not exist and escaped with the money. On the other hand there were also many franchise businesses that went bankrupt. This was when the need for strict regulations for franchising business was given a thought.

In the year 1978, the Federal Trade Commission ordered that all the franchisers/manufacturers were supposed to submit the Uniform Offering Circular or UFOC before receiving money from the prospective franchisers. The UFOC provides the details of the franchise company, gives their history, audited financial statements, information of the officers, and the contract, or the franchise agreement.

At present, the franchising is seen as the most lucrative business option for many people who aspire to own a business.

China Media Booms

No one really knows how many television stations there are in China. Best estimates put the number at 5,000. Yet, just over ten years ago there were no more than 40. The number of newspapers has increased from around 200 to more than 2,500, radio stations have blossomed from a 100 to 1,200 and TV and radio penetration is now over 85 percent.

In just, 10 years, the media in has exploded. But it is still heavily regulated and owned and controlled by the state run Communist Party. Most local media is pro-China in its content and style and is used as a tool for control and influence over the country's huge population.

There are also limits on foreign journalists - where they can travel and to whom they can speak. Overseas media regularly have their offices screened and their activities are closely monitored.

Taiwan, Tibet and human rights issues are strictly off the editorial agenda.

Despite this, consumerism has well and truly arrived in China. There's now an increased sophistication in the market - and marketing communications, brand management and reputation building have become big business.

There is no such thing as privately owned media in China - and foreign companies are restricted. Consumerism is driving up advertising revenue. The dominant Chinese television network, CCTV is said to earn a total of 1 billion yuan or A$200 million a year.

So in this environment how can Australian companies effectively get their message across and plan marketing communications strategies in China?

The first thing to understand is how companies will have to work in a very complex and constantly changing regulatory environment.

"China is very conscious of reforming its media and has some relatively progressive thinking internally about where to take it," said Gary Davey CEO of Star TV in Hong Kong. "But it's going to take a very long time because they are equally sensitive about the importance of control."

An older generation of bureaucrats still sees the media, and television in particular, as a propaganda device and any attempt to reform it into a commercially driven business raises great suspicion amongst the Chinese leadership.

In the past the News Corporation owned STAR TV has upset Chinese authorities and Davey is quick to point out the sensitivities of the Chinese marketplace, especially when it comes to cultural differences.

"You might be able to run a successful State-run security operation by trying to force your own cultural values down someone else's throat, but you certainly can't run a business doing that."

STAR TV has had to develop strategies that fit these realities. "We've created new companies with Chinese partners to play a part in the evolution of the policy," Davey said.

The days of handing out long red envelopes filled with cash to journalists at press conferences in China could also well be over. The industry is trying to clean up its act and has recently released a new code of practice for both public relations professionals and journalists.

The local media is still very pro-China in its content and style but the practice of accepting cash and gifts in return for running positive stories is now being phased out.

Tony Turner has worked in corporate communications in China for over 25 years and is the Hong Kong based Chairman of the Rowland Company.

He says in the past there has been a degree of cronyism, corruption and lack of transparency in the media but that is changing as Western-based multinationals entered the market with a new set of communication standards.

"What we've got today in Hong Kong is a highly professional, highly inquisitive and free media," he said.

Turner believes many multinationals don't want their name tarnished by being caught for paying journalists.

"The opportunity for PR and professional PR is as great as it ever could be," Turner said.

This view is reflected in Beijing where Gua Hu-ming heads up the China International Public Relations Association. He says PR as a profession, started in China 15 years ago and first appeared in joint venture hotels.

In the past it has been standard practice for reporters to accept cash and gifts in return for running positive stories or even working in conjunction with investors to ramp up the stock market.

But this is changing Mr Gua believes the Chinese media and journalists are becoming more professional.

But what impact is the Internet having on traditional news sources and PR campaigns?

Dr Xueli Huang is an expert on Internet marketing based at Edith Cowan University in Perth.

He says Internet usage is growing in China with 60 million users but news content is still heavily controlled.

Most users are young and cannot afford a computer. Instead they use Internet cafes to send emails and their main news sources are limited to international news sites such as the BBC World Service and CNN.

"I don't think the Chinese Government will ban all the news sites, but Government will certainly want to control political sites."

Bandwidth is also a problem in China. Huang believes newspapers, radio and TV will still provide local news because of the time in downloading information from the Internet and the lack of infrastructure.

So if you are doing business in China here are 12 success tips for implementing a successful marketing communications plan:

1. Understand cultural differences. Be sensitive to local communities and understand the complex and varied structures of the Chinese media. They are not uniform and often controlled at a local, provincial and national level. I will never forget the cultural shock of seeing an armed red-guard standing on a pillbox outside a TV studio in Guangzhou asking for my official ID. Improve your cultural literacy by understanding the culture and history of those you're doing business with. Respect these differences and don't impose your own values & perceptions on how the local media should treat you.

2. Use a local spokesperson. Depending on the news value of the story, you will have a better chance of gaining media coverage the more Chinese you make your message. Using a local spokesperson will give you greater credibility. For example in PR campaigns for Nokia and IBM in China, they use local Chairmen who are Chinese because they are well respected and have deep Chinese roots.

3. Know your point of difference - what you do in your own backyard you also have to do in new markets. Find out what makes you or your service or product unique in the marketplace? How will it stand out from the competition. In the past cultural differences have been used as an excuse for dubious practices not acceptable back home. This has changed.

4. Clarify your communication objectives? What do you want to achieve? To inform or entertain? To provide information? To build a profile? To influence public opinion? Personal marketing? Marketing or launching a new product or service? How will cultural diversity and differing news values influence this? News values differ in China. Often issues will be reported one or two days later and not with the urgency or timeliness of the Western media.

5. Define your target audience? Who is your target audience? General public? Customers? Competitors? Suppliers? What age are they, what level of education, what beliefs and values, geographical location, how do they use the local Chinese media? How credible is the media your target audience uses? Does it still have credibility even though it is controlled? The media is evolving and becoming more respected.

6. Identify the best channels of communication. What is the best way to reach your target audience? TV, Radio, Internet, newspapers - local or national? Do your homework on how news is structured and gathered. Investigate who is reporting on what. Find out the nuances. TV has the highest penetration, while the Internet is growing amongst younger Chinese.

7. What is your key message? The media is becoming more competitive and market driven. They need readers and viewers to stay viable in the new economy. How can you make your message appealing and newsworthy? Distill what you want to say into three key points. Always check translations of media releases. Have them retranslated back into English to check for accuracy.

8. Build your case? When building your case look for the China angle. What are the features, advantages and benefits of your message for your Chinese targets? What evidence and proof do you have that is seen as credible and independent within their cultural belief system?

9. What is the China hook? What will make your message or news release stand out from the rest and appeal to the values of Chinese journalists. You are not successful in China until the local market tells you. Giving money to Chinese journalists is no longer acceptable. Use more legal and ethical incentives such as providing transport, lunch or a gift or souvenir item.

10. Develop long-term relationships with the media. Visit and meet journalists face to face. Network, get to know them and involve them in the story. There is now a focus on the interactive brand experience. For example in a recent mobile phone campaign local journalists were involved in trailing the product prior to launch. They were asked for their feedback and engaged proactively in its development providing them with ownership of the product and subsequent story. Relationships and personal connections, or guanxi are very important in China and especially so in cultivating good media contacts.

11. If you have to face the media yourself ... Use the Three Golden Rules to Perform at your Best = Know Your Topic, Be Prepared, Relax.

12. Seek Professional Help. For maximum impact, effectiveness and value seek the advice of a media and communications professional that can help your company see the media as an opportunity not a threat.

The Pains of Change with Clients

This month we discuss what so many professionals miss with their prospects and that often cause surprises after the project has started.
It is discussing the pains of change with clients. The problem is that very often clients invite your to their sinking ships hoping that you get their sinking ships into smooth cruising mode again within a day or two, and often for a competitive(ly low) fee.And when this doesn't happen (According to Dr. Edgar Schein, over 90% of consulting projects fail because of undisclosed events, non-discussable and lack of action on clients' sides), very often consultants get blamed for failing to achieve the projected results. But who is in the driving seat? You or the client? Who is the decision maker? No, not you? Thus final outcomes cannot be in your hands. And you must communicate this to your clients.
However, making consultants responsible for the outcomes of their clients' projects is just as futile as making parents single-handedly responsible for their kids' accomplishments. Consultants, just like parents, are not the ultimate decision-makers.
You can't even guarantee whether or not your clients get out of bed in the morning let alone whether they use or discard your advice. In plain English: You are NOT in charge. The client is.
Regardless of what parents do for their kids, and regardless of how much they help their kids to achieve it, if the kids consciously DECIDE to get involved in crime or drugs, the is not a dickybird parents can do about it. Responsibility for achieving results and authority for making decisions come hand in hand. You can't separate the two.
By nature people are scared of the unknown aspects of change, and, interestingly, when the change process is promoted to be a smooth ride and a neat slope with a steady gradient, some people get excited and jumps on the opportunity, but some people become extra cautious.
So, how does the military handle total buy-in from new recruits? Read the next paragraph from General Patton preparing his troops for battle.

"You are not all going to die. Only two percent of you right here today would die in a major battle. Death must not be feared. Death, in time, comes to all men. Yes, every man is scared in his first battle. If he says he's not, he's a liar."

The US Navy's SEAL Unit vehemently promotes the most intense part of their training, called "Hell Week". They tell potential recruits about all the pain and suffering they have to endure in order to become full-blown members of one of the most respected units in the American military machine.
And guess what, when people are mentally prepared for the hardship, they can better take it. And attrition rate in the military is a lot lower than project failure rate in the world of consulting.
In the world of professional services there is the current situation, the desired situation and the unknown "swamp" clients have to go through to reach the "promised land."
The key is to tell clients that it is a swamp full of alligators and mosquitoes not a rose garden with colourful butterflies, the journey to cross the swamp to the promised land will be more of a tough hike with blood, sweat and tears than a pleasure cruise with cute waitresses and celebrity hunks.
Clients know what is happening to them right now, and often can get a concept of what can wait for them in the promised land, but still, they are scared to death of crossing the swamp. And since you have crossed many swamps many times and arrived at many promised lands, you can tell your clients about what to expect on the journey and what to take with them. You can recommend them to take a rifle and a big knife, and leave their make-up sets and iPods at home.
When I defected from Hungary in 1988 with no money and no English, I knew I was in for a pretty rough ride. I knew I could end up being deported right away or being dumped into a refugee camp living like a rat until I would have a chance to find work and be released to the normal world (a.k.a. the rate race. Oh these fiendish vermin are everywhere). Just like me, many of my friends were fed up with the communist system, but unlike me, in spite of knowing the beauties and benefits of the promised land, they found the swamp too scary to cross, and decided to stay.
Many prospective clients are like that too. And the sooner they decide whether or not they are willing to cross the swamp with you, the better it is both for your piggy bank and sanity. Imagine you go through several meetings, write a proposal and then the prospect pulls back. A sort of "projectus interruptus" when a prospect withdraws before something "serious" happens. Arrrrrg!
So, during your initial discussion you've outlined and evaluated clients' cost of staying where they are right now, and the value of getting to the promised land. This actually establishes your value, which is a basis of your fees. (For more on this see "It's All About Your Value: Service Professionals' Guide to Setting, Raising and Safeguarding Fees"
So, now clients is excited about the opportunities waiting for them at the promised land, and mistakenly assume that you do all the necessary work and you actually carry them on your back to the new destination. This sets up false expectations, and if something unexpected happens (always does), you get blamed for everything, including the Spanish inquisition.
So, let's start and communicate this pain of change.
Ask prospects about their concern and worries regarding the change effort, and then elaborate on each item to the level of details as necessary. Then bring up whatever has been missed. If prospects express concerns about mosquitoes only, then bring up the alligators. Tell prospects that if they step off the path, the swamp can swallow them. These are not scare tactics, like "Unless you buy my fire alarm system, your kids will burn alive and you will hear them scream for the rest of your life." This is different. Here you use fear to make a buying decision.
Your prospects have already made a buying decisions based on their values. All you do is just fill them in on the details of what may or may not happen during the journey across the swamp. Take some time together to discover all the perceived dangers. If they don't happen that's great, but if they do happen and your clients are not properly prepared, then they freak out like injured animals, they can become totally unpredictable and you can be in pretty deep yoghurt. That is what some clients demand their money back or threaten to take you to court. It can be pretty nasty.
So, for a moment remember your first day at university.

"People, you may feel a bit crowded right but relax. In a few months half of you will be out of here."

So, students understand that unless they are willing to work their butts off, they will soon be out with no hope in hell to retrieve the tuition they paid at the beginning of the course. And if they want to come back later, they have to pay again.
The other important point is to make buyers understand that before the situation improves, it will worsen. It is the same as people shortly before dying often get seemingly better get, and then without much fuss, song and dance they irreversibly kick the bucket.
Therefore you must discuss the pains of change while making the conceptual agreement with buyers. They must know what they are about to get into. Remember, fear of failure is a huge withholding power in people's lives.
In most organisations change takes place at five levels:
1. ASSET LEVEL: For industrial organisations assets are the buildings, computer systems, production lines, the fleet of company cars and the photocopier. For a professional service firm it is their people. This is such basic change as buying a new photocopier. However, some people may insist on keeping the old copier because they are used to it.
2. ROAD MAP LEVEL: This is plans, systems and processes that enable organisations to go from A to B and actually navigate through the jungles of commerce throughout its lifetime. The road map also includes, policies, procedures, code of conduct, scripts and every piece of information that can be codified into written documents. Change at this level seems to be easy, but at this level we don't know whether or not people are interested in changing at all.
3. CAPABILITY LEVEL: This is the skills and competencies of the people organisations employ to produce what they produce. This includes both explicit (learnt through memorising information) and tacit (intuition, finesse, gut feeling, "trench work." Basically cellular level knowledge) experience. Two police officers can have the same level of explicit knowledge, but the one who has personally led numerous raids on drug operations where the bullets were flying has significantly more tacit experience.
This is why it is huge mistake to hire people (employees, contractors or advisors) based on resumes (explicit knowledge). I dare to say Donald Trump's assistant knows more about real estate than most realtors out there who are certified to the hilt and registered with every association that has something to do with real estate. The person can be explicitly amazing but tacitly amazingly incompetent. Your expertise is about 20% explicit knowledge and 80% of tacit information (intuition and gut feeling, trench work, basically cellular level knowledge).
The mistake here is that by sending people to training courses, managers expect instant performance improvement from their people as soon as they return from the course. But people do need time to turn the new information into new skills. For a doctor a fairly long time goes by between the first anatomy lesson at medical school and the first real heart surgery. I've never come across a doctor who can operate on people one day after graduation. A law school graduate must be invited to the bar to practise. It can only happen in the world of commerce that after graduation a freshly minted MBA demands, and often receives a senior management position with a corner office a personal secretary, some mind-numbing bonuses (on what?) and a company Mercedes.
4. INTENTION LEVEL: This is the major driving force behind and change initiative. It is fairly easy to change things, but changing people is a horse of a different colour altogether. We have discussed many times how important it is to align organisational objectives and strategies with personal goals, and this is the perfect place to see this alignment in operation. When it exists, people buy into the change relatively easily (All right, let's factor in the general fear of change), especially if they see that everyone around them will go through the same change process.
For every desire for change there is an opposing desire of keeping things the same. At this point the best thing you can do is to find the pros and cons for both situations.
5. VISION LEVEL: This is really the essence of the change effort. Many people say "I want to start exercising", but only a very few, who actually start, have overarching reasons, let's call it visions, to actually get started and maintain it in the long run. I know a company that espouses on its website that they are the best IT firm in the vicinity, while the president is encouraging people to do half-repairs, so they can return and milk clients over and over again. He himself lives pretty high on the hog and works hard on how to explain to his people why there is no pay increase and, again, the company can't afford to pay bonuses. Basically, he is a rotten lying SOB.
Post-Reading Provocation
* Look back on your projects and try to count how many times your clients have been surprised and even shocked by unexpected setbacks. Have you ever been blamed for these setbacks?
* After discussing the current and the desired situations, how could you discuss the potential pain based on the five change levels listed above?
* How can you communicate more effectively that creating the desired results, while you and the client are mutually accountable to each other, is the client's sole responsibility since s/he is the final decision-maker.

Productivity on the Job

Increased productivity means people like Jane and Phil earn effectively higher wages than their parents.
Here's why: Every time a company makes an improvement, a productivity improvement, it increases its value and its income. Whether it reduces a cost or adds value for which consumers will pay more, it increases its earnings.
Some of those increased earnings go to higher (real) wages for employees, some goes to investors, and some goes back into improving the business. When we say real wages, we mean after inflation.
Consider this: Phil, a carpenter who builds homes, buys a new, compressed-air nailing gun, and now frames a house in 18 and a half days, rather than 19 days as he did with his old nailing gun. He still gets paid the same amount for framing a house, but his productivity went up, so he gains (in effect) a half day's pay. Part of that gain helps pay for the new nailing gun, part goes toward other new tools, and part goes into his pocket since he's an employee and owner of the business.
In time, of course, all Phil's competitors will close this productivity gap by getting new nailing guns of their own, and that will push down the price that homeowners pay for framing. But, for now, Phil's productivity advantage increases the amount he earns as an employee and owner.
Productivity improvements don't come only from better technology, like better nailing guns. They also come from improvements in processes that allow employees to work more effectively. In many cases, that's as simple as improvements in communication between two people who work together.
Probably the most important thing to know and remember about productivity improvements is that there are so many little ones. Sure, we all know about the big breakthroughs like electric lighting, the automobile, and the computer (well, some of us might argue about that)), but just as important, or perhaps even more important, are the literally millions of small improvements made every year. Individually, they don't mean much, but collectively they've generated an enormous increase in our productivity.
Because of productivity improvements he made at work, Phil's real wages have gone up. Because of the millions of big and small improvements throughout society, just about everyone else's wages have gone up, too.