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Controlling The Financial Performance Of Your Business

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There are numerous factors which impact on the performance and viability of your business. It is therefore imperative that you monitor and control your financial performance. Debt control and budgeting are two elements of this, and of particular importance is your business cash flow.

Many profitable businesses have gone under due to a lack of attention to their cash flow; they have insufficient cash available to pay their bills. Thus, you must plan and control your cash flow in order to effectively manage your business.

Some strategies that may assist in this include:

* Increasing the speed of cash receipts by good debt control strategies

* Avoiding excessive stock holdings by managing stock levels and obtaining reliable, prompt suppliers

* Planning the purchase of equipment and other capital expenditure for periods when surplus funds exist

* Planning to have sufficient reserves to carry your business through the inevitable periods when unexpected expenses are incurred

* Avoiding excessive investment in plant, equipment and other fixed assets which may leave too little working capital available (particularly in periods of falling prices, declining sales or increasing interest rates)

* Avoiding over borrowing as this may place a strain on working capital, loans still have to be repaid even if revenue is decreasing

* Maintain adequate working capital to fund the growth as increasing sales also means increasing costs, your working capital requirements therefore, need to be continually reviewed

* Delaying outgoings by taking advantage of the credit terms offered by your suppliers and paying when it suits your cash flow

* Reducing outgoings by taking advantage of discounts when appropriate and working capital permits

* And most importantly, regularly comparing your actual cash flows to your budgeted cash flows, analysing the differences, and taking action based on this analysis

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Is Being A Silpada Designs Independent Representative Right For You

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In 1997, Teresa Walsh and Bonnie Kelly had founded Silpada Designs. They happened to be room mothers for children in the same classroom. The two women struck up a conversation and discovered that both had a common interest in sterling silver jewelry. They tried several business ventures but each time were unsuccessful. This prompted them with an idea to design their own jewelry and show them at their own jewelry parties. Since those humble beginnings, their Company, Silpada Designs has had phenomenal growth over the years empowering a vast number of Independent Silpada Designs Representatives all across the country.

Silpada home shows and jewelry parties can bring in several hundred dollars at each party. Typical sales can run around seven to eight hundred dollars for the jewelry collection. Silpada Home Designs are very lenient on how their representatives run their jewelry parties. The representatives are free to run their parties as choose. This gives a large advantage over other home parties that specializes in the jewelry market, a definite advantage for those that are seriously considering this type of venture. Representatives do not have to follow any sales script, push a particular product, or for that matter required to throw any parties. Silpada Designs even allows you to be creative in your marketing by allowing you to sell jewelry directly, over the internet, by phone or any other creative ways provided that you do not miss represent the product. Many representatives are so enthusiastic about the jewelry line and they sometimes are their own best customers. What better endorsement can you possible have?

Make no mistake; Silpada Designs is a Multi Level Marketing (MLM) opportunity. But do no let that scare you. A Silpada Representative is not bound to hold a certain number of parties or is under any quotas or minimums for sales. The number of parties is strictly up to you. However, holding as many parties as you can earn you a great deal of money. In addition, like other MLM opportunities reps can earn prizes, jewelry and vacations for doing an outstanding job. The general commission for representatives is thirty (30) percent of retail sales for jewelry and fifteen (15) percent for accessories. You can also earn residual income from down line sales made by your recruits. Again, no requirements to recruit or have a down-line sale force.

Sound good right! So the question becomes, “How much is this going to cost me?” Unfortunately, for those that are on a real tight budget, its going to be a little costly. Its going to cost you for a certification fee, learning materials and of course some product. Figure almost two hundred dollars for the certification and learning materials and two to five hundred dollars for some starter product (cost of product to reps are at a fifty percent discount) to show. So I would estimate four to seven hundred dollars to get you going.

If you want to do this but you are concerned about the startup cost, I suggest that you go to a couple of Silpada Design parties and just see for yourself how well the jewelry and accessories sell. If you truly belief that you can make a go at this and you want to be in business for yourself, but have the startup cost, save up over several months or borrow it from family or friends if you feel the need.

Go into this venture with both eyes open and your feet firmly planted on the ground. Remember not to take on more that you can deliver. We all believe that it is easy to sell anything, but retail sales are very volatile and have a lot of ups and downs to it. Keep a keen eye on seasonality and run your business like a professional CEO. Never the less, this is well presented business model and is generally a very easy business to run.

The best part of the Silpada Designs business plan is that this opportunity has instant credibility in that the Silpada Designs Representative receive his or hers commission upon making the sale. You simple collect the money, take your commission and send the remainder to the company for payment and shipment. Other companies do it differently than Silpada Designs. They require all sales profits to be delivered to the company for payment and shipment of the product, then the company sends a commission check, sometimes have the representative wait weeks on end to get paid.

So, is being a Silpada Designs Independent Representative Right for You. I would hope so. Build a career, have fun, set your own schedule and make money at the same time. No experience is necessary, and you can learn as you go. Its one of the easiest ways imaginable to have your own business.

The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Adding 3d Secure To An E-commerce Website.

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There is no doubt that 3D Secure and Verified by Visa are successful anti- fraud techniques and are definitely options that merchants should discuss with their internet payment provider. This added security step has been proven to reduce fraudulent transactions and increase consumer confidence when paying with credit cards online, but there are still many factors that need to be taken into consideration when deciding whether or not to add 3D Secure to a website.

Carl Buchalet CEO of Cashtronics payment systems explains how at Cashtronics they look at each merchant individually and decide whether or not 3D Secure is in the merchants best interest.

From our experience at Cashtronics the advantages of adding this extra security measure for merchants are clear:

Reduces the risk of fraudulent transactions.
Decreases the number of disputed transactions.
Shifts the financial liability away from the merchant.
Boosts some consumers confidence- often leading to increased sales.

Although there are clear anti-fraud benefits, they need to be carefully weighed against potential revenue losses and problems that can arise from using 3D Secure:

Additional Obstacles to purchase: Each security field that is added to an online form has been proven to dramatically lower the % of successfully completed transactions.
Poor Communication: Many customers have no idea what 3D Secure is; consequently they close the browser window, leading to lost sales.
Security Issues: Some banks require a customer to keep a card with a series of secret codes on it. This is often the same card that is used to authorize wire transfers on the bank account so cardholder then carries this card around with them, exposing them self to hard fraud.
Browser Problem: Sometimes the 3D secure request field is on the bottom of the screen and not seen by the customer- again causing high abandonment rate.
Unfriendly Protocol: The web browser connects to unfamiliar domain names and can cause extra delay and crashes.
Complicated Process: A password is often required and customers often forget it!
Added cost: Many payment providers charge an additional fee for 3D Secure.
NOT Fraud Proof: Many thieves catch cards in the postal mail, so they can usually set up 3D secure on their own fairly easily since they have new cards and enhanced information. Also even the 3D secure system has become the target of some phishing scams.

To reduce the problems that can arise with 3D secure merchants should ask potential internet payment providers the following:

1) Is adding this extra step in the best interest for the business given the field it operates in?
2) What are the additional fees for processing 3D Secure and Verified by Visa?
3) Are 3D secure transactions in house, as outsourcing adds to the cost & difficulty of the transaction and can reduce the level of security.
4) Does the payment provider have experience in processing this type of transaction?

In general, a payment provider should be able to give each merchant an idea of the volume of sales that they will loose depending on their industry, and will then calculate how much can be gained on charge backs and fraud by offering 3D Secure; then it is just a simple calculation to see which case yields a higher ROI.

Web Conferencing Can Make A Huge Impact

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If your company isn’t hasn’t caught the web conferencing wave, then it doesn’t know what it’s missingwhich just may be everything!

Web conferencing makes it possible for people from all over the world to meet in cyberspace at the click of a mouse. This is truly incredible technology that is changing the way all types of businesses are doing business. From small businesses to mega corporations, web conferencing ensures that no on need ever miss out on a meeting again.

Which automatically increases productivity among employees! The sales people out in the field are in the know about what’s happening back at the office because they can visit the office from thousands of miles away. And having everyone know what’s going on is vital to communications among employees to ensure business is conducted at its best. When only a few people have much needed information and they’re unavailable, then a whole company suffers as people scramble to find the answers they need.

But that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to all that web conferencing makes possible. Web conferencing can be used for meetings, yes, but it needn’t be limited to just meetings.

Web conferencing is a great way to train employees in new processes a company is using or for making presentations to them on changes in a company’s protocol. This type of web conferencing is often referred to as webcasts or webcasting. Basically, this means the conferences or presentations can be recorded to play and be available for others to download and view whenever they like or need to do so.

Just think of the possibilities that has for any company! They can train their employees no matter where they are, they can conduct meetings that no one can duck out of because they just happen to be fourteen states away, and they can have a library of needed materials that allows their employees to be taught certain procedures.

But what about outside the company? Does web conferencing make a difference then?

The answer is YES! You better believe it does. A company can have focus groups that will provide them with much needed target audience research on a particular product, as well as on the development of new products. Companies are no longer limited to hiring outside consultants to hold focus groups for them all over the world. They can do it themselves, right from their mortar and brick home office at the corner of First and Main Streets.

The benefits outside the company don’t stop there either. New product launches can be done using web conferencing, as can press briefings and shareholder meetings. And it’s no longer necessary for a company to fly ten of their best people into a city to hold a sales presentation or make a new business pitch.

They can dress up in their finest, spruce up the old conference or boardroom so it’s at its finest, and conduct any kind of presentation for anyone, anywhere in the world! Then when it’s over, everyone can slip into their everyday clothes and head back to their cubicles or offices.

The impact web conferencing can have due to this increased ease and decreased transportation and lost productivity time on a company’s bottom line makes web conferencing equipment well worth the investment. It will pay for itself in no time flat when a group is able to win just one new business pitch without having any transportation and lodging to pay for!

This means that a company can put those resources to good use elsewhere. Maybe to buy more web conferencing equipment and software for all their offices, not just headquarters.

Because one thing is certain, if your company isn’t using web conferencing to do business, it will be soon. Web conferencing is just too good for a company’s bottom line for it to be ignored for longeven by people who don’t much care for the old World Wide Web. Web conferencing, when done well, makes believers out of all involved. Once hooked, people never look back!

Sales Training Books

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Books Sales Professionals might like to Read

While developing out new website for Sales Training Consultants, we thought it would be a good idea to provide a reading list for sales people wanting to develop their sales skills and knowledge. So, here it is, divided into various sub-categories for ease of use:

Selling Skills

* Getting Into Your Customer’s Head: 8 Secret Roles of Selling Your Competitors Don’t Know, Kevin Davis. New York: Random House, 1996. (ISBN 0-8129-2628-5)
* Stop Selling and Start Partnering, Larry Wilson
* Changing the Game, Larry Wilson. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987.
* SPIN Selling, Rackham, Neil. New York: McGraw Hill, 1988.
* Solution Selling by Michael T. Bosworth (Irwin Publishing, 1995).
* Samurai Selling: The Ancient Art of Service in Sales by Chuck Laughlin, Karen Sage and Marc Bockmon (St. Martin’s, 1993).
* The 25 Sales Habits of Highly Successful Salespeople , by Stephan Schiffman (Adams Publishing, 1994).
* The AMA Handbook of Successful Selling, by Bob Kimball (NTC Publishing Group, 1993).
* The Selling Bible: For People in the Business of Selling, by John L. Lawton (Council Oaks Distribution, 1995)
* Closing Tactics, Andoni Lizardi
* Negotiate to Close, Gary Karass
* Ziglar on Selling, Zig Ziglar. Nashville, TN: Ziglar Corporation, 1991.
* The Sales Strategist: 6 Breakthrough Strategies to Win New Business, Warren Kurzrock. New York: Irwin Publishing, 1996. ISBN: 0-7863-0738-2.
* Selling to VITO: the Very Important Top Officer, Anthony Parinello, Massachusetts, Bob Adams, 1994.
* Selling to the Top, David A. Peoples. New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1994.
* Sales Reengineering From the Outside In, Mark Blessington and Bill O’Connell (McGraw Hill, 1995).
* Strategic Selling, Stephen Heiman and Robert Miller.
* Conceptual Selling, Stephan Heiman and Robert Miller. Berkeley, CA: Miller Heiman, 1987.
* Selling the invisible, Harry Beckworth
* Cracking New Accounts: Tips and Techniques for Opening and Closing the Sales in Half the Time, Terry L. Booton (Probus, 1994).
* Guerilla Selling: Unconventional Weapons and Tactics for Increasing Your Sales, Jay Conrad Levinson, Orvel Ray Wilson and Bill Gallagher (Houghton Mifflin, 1992).

Business Acumen

* The One to One Future: Building Relationships One Customer at a Time, by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers (Doubleday, 1993).
* The Monster Under the Bed by Stan Davis & Jim Bodkin. (Simon and Schuster, 1994).
* Corporate Life Cycles: How and Why Corporations Grow and Die and What to Do about It by Izak Adiches. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990).
* The Little Black Book of Business Math, by Michael C. Thomsett. (New York: Anacom, 1988).
* The Art of War, by Sun-Tzu (Delacorte, 1989).
* The Goal, by Eliyahu M. Goldratt (North River Press, 1992).
* The E Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber (Harper-Business, 1990).
* The Popcorn Report: The Future of Your Company, Your World, Your Life by Faith Popcorn (Harper-Business, 1992).
* Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers by William G. Droms, (Reading MA: Addison Wesley, 1990).
* The Vital Difference: Unleashing the Powers of Sustained Corporate Success, by Frederick G. Harmon and Garry Jacobs, (AMACOM, 1985).
* What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School, Mark H. McCormack, (Bantam Books, 1984).
* Zap, the Power of Empowerment by Jeff Cox.
* Marketing, by Robert D. Hisrich (Barron’s Educational Series, 1990).
* Multi-Level Marketing: The Definitive Guide to America’s Top MLM Companies (Summit Group, 1993).
* Relationship Marketing: Successful Strategies for the Age of the Customer, by Regis McKenna (Addison Wesley, 1993).
* How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Guy Kawasaki.
* The Ten-Day MBA : A Step-By-Step Guide to Mastering the Skills Taught in America’s Top Business Schools @amazon.com
* The Complete MBA For Dummies @amazon.com
* Financial Statements : A Step-By-Step Guide to Understanding and Creating Financial Reports @amazon.com
* Business Planning : 25 Keys to a Sound Business Plan (The New York Times Pocket MBA Series) @amazon.com
* Tracking & Controlling Costs : 25 Keys to Cost Management (The New York Times Pocket MBA Series) @amazon.com
* Forecasting Budgets @amazon.com

Strategic Sales Planning

* The Magic Lamp: Goal Setting for People Who Hate Setting Goals, Keith Ellis, Three Rivers Pr., 1998, ISBN: 060980166X.
* Achieving Individual and Team Goals, Terry R. Bacon, Thomas Doggett, International Learningwork, 1996, ISBN: 1577400135.
* The Agile Manager’s Guide to Goal-Setting and Achievement (The Agile Manager Series), Walter Wadsworth, Velocity Pub., 1998, ISBN: 0965919323.
* All About Goals and How to Achieve Them, Jack Ensign Addington, Devorss and Co (Txp), 1977, ISBN: 0875162371.
* 10 Minute Guide To Planning (10 Minute Guides), Edwin E. Bobrow, IDG Books Worldwide, 1997, ISBN: 0028618181.
* The Sales Strategist: 6 Breakthrough Strategies to Win New Business, Warren Kurzrock. New York: Irwin Publishing, 1996. (ISBN 0-7863-0738-2)
* Sales Reengineering From the Outside In, by Mark Blessington and Bill O’Connell (McGraw Hill, 1995).
* First Things First, Steven Covey, Roger Merrill and Rebecca R. Merrill (Simon & Schuster, 1994)
* Winning the Fight between You and Your Desk by Jeffrey J. Mayer (Harper Business, 1994)
* Strategic Selling, Heiman, Stephen and Miller, Robert.
* Conceptual Selling, Heiman, Stephen and Miller, Robert. Berkeley, CA: Miller Heiman, 1987.
* Successful Large Account Management, by Robert Miller
* Major Account Sales Strategies, by Neil Rackham. New York: McGraw Hill, 1989.
* Managing Major Accounts, Neil Rackham
* Stop Selling and Start Partnering, Larry Wilson
* Power of Consultative Selling, Bryce Webster
* Organizational Capability: Competing from the Inside Out, by Dave Ulrich and Dale Lake, (John Wiley and Sons, 1990).
* Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving In, Fisher and Uri.
* Cracking New Accounts: Tips and Techniques for Opening and Closing the Sales in Half the Time, by Terry L. Booton (Probus, 1994).
* Guerilla Selling: Unconventional Weapons and Tactics for Increasing Your Sales, by Jay Conrad Levinson, Orvel Ray Wilson, and Bill Gallagher (Houghton Mifflin, 1992).

Customer Focus

* Discipline of Market Leaders, Treachy, Michael and Wiersema, (Addison Wesley, 1995)
* Brain Power: Learn to Improve Your Thinking Skills , Karl Albrecht. Prentice Hall, 1987.
* Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Stephen R. Covey. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990.
* Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service , Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles. New York, William Morrow & Co., 1993. ISBN 0-688-12316-3.
* Stop Selling and Start Partnering, Larry Wilson & Hersch Wilson.
* One-to-One Marketing, Martha Rodgers and Don Peppers.
* The Customer Driven Company: Moving from Talk to Action , Richard C. Whiteley. Addison Wesley, Reading, MA, 1991. ISBN 0-201-57090-4.
* Customer Centered Growth: 5 Strategies for Building Competitive Advantage, Dianne Hessen and Richard Whitely. Addison Wesley, Reading, MA, 1996. ISBN: 0-201-47967-2.
* Getting Into Your Customer’s Head: 8 Secret Roles of Selling Your Competitors Don’t Know , Kevin Davis. New York, Random House, 1996. ISBN 0-8129-2628-5.
* Changing the Game, Larry Wilson, New York, Simon & Schuster, 1987.
* Solution Selling, Michael T. Bosworth. Irwin Publishing, 1995.
* Customer Visits: Building a Better Market Focus , Edward F. McQuarrie, Sage Pubns., 1998, ISBN: 0761908838.
* Customer Focus: A Strategy for Success, Roger Langevin, Bill Christopher, Crisp Pubns., 1998, ISBN: 1560524855.
* The Discipline of Market Leaders: Choose Your Customers, Narrow Your Focus, Dominate Your Market , Michael Treacy, Frederik D. Wiersema, Perseus Pr., 1997, ISBN: 0201407191.
* Implementing Quality With a Customer Focus , David N. Griffiths, Quality Resources, 1991, ISBN: 0873891104.

End User Effectiveness

* All Consumers Are Not Created Equal, Garth Hallberg. John Wiley & Sons, 1996. 320 pages.
* Real Time, Regis McKenna. Harvard Business School Press, 1998.
* Enterprise One to One, Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Ph.D. Currency Doubleday, 1997.
* Keeping the Edge, Dick Schaaf. Dutton, 1995.
* Customer-Centered Growth, Richard Whiteley and Diane Hessan. Addison-Wesley, 1996.
* Strategic Customer Alliances : How to Win, Manage, and Develop Key Accounts @amazon.com
* Key Accounts Are Different : Sales Solutions for Key Account Managers @amazon.com
* Account Management (Building Service Management Program) @amazon.com
* Successful Large Account Management by Tad Tuleja(Contributor), et al @amazon.com
* Key Account Management: The Route to Key Supplier Status by Peter Cheverton @amazon.com
* Key Account Management: Maximizing Profitability from Major Customers by John Rock @amazon.com

Negotiation Skills

* Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher and Bill Ury (Viking Penguin, 1991).
* Getting Past No, Bill Ury (Viking Penguin, 1993)
* The Tao of Negotiation by Joel Edelman and Mary Beth Crain (Harper Business, 1993).
* How to Out-Negotiate Anyone (Even a Car Dealer) by Leo Reilly (Adams Publishing, 1993).
* Major Account Sales Strategies, by Neil Rackham (McGraw Hill, 1989).
* The Complete Negotiator, Gerard Nierenberger, (Berley Books, 1986).
* The Negotiation Toolkit: How to Get Exactly What You Want in Any Business or Personal Situation @amazon.com
* Deal Power: 6 Foolproof Steps to Making Deals of Any Size by Marc Diener @amazon.com
* The Power of Negotiating: Strategies for Success by Mike R. Stark @amazon.com
* The Shadow Negotiation: How Women Can Master the Hidden Agendas That Determine Bargaining Success by Deborah M. Kolb, Judith Williams @amazon.com

Channel Partner Effectiveness

* The channel advantage, Lawrence Friedman and Timothy Furey
* Market-Based Management: Strategies for Growing Customer Value and Profitability, 2nd edition, (Prentice Hall, 2000) – Roger Best – Part III Tactical Marketing Strategies Chapter 9
* Make Your Dealers Your Partners Harvard Business Review, March-April 1996, pp. 89-96.
* Rethinking Distribution: Adaptive Channels Harvard Business Review, July-August 1996, pp. 112-120. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990).
* The Sales Rep Navigator: How to Find the Perfect Sales Rep or Distributor for Your Business, @amazon.com
* How to Market Your Product Through Distributor sales Networks, @amazon.com
* Planning Telephone Sales: Handbook for Distributor Management, @amazon.com
* The Channel Advantage : Going to Market With Multiple Sales Channels to Reach More Customers, Sell More Products, Make More Profit @amazon.com
* Channel Champions: How leading companies build new strategies to serve customers @amazon.com

Computer Skills

* Lotus Notes for Dummies, @amazon.com
* PowerPoint for Dummies, @amazon.com
* Excel for Dummies, @amazon.com
* Word for Dummies @amazon.com