She’s appeared on ABC’s Home Show, and the Financial News Network has featured her as well in a two part series for their show American Entrepreneur.

Here are some questions that guided this interview segment:

1. Where did the idea to create funding roadmap come from?
2. Is their anything out their in the market like the Fundingroadmap?
3. What are some of the typical sources of capital for small business—-and perhaps some things to know about each of them?
4. Aside from a recessionary environment or challenging economic cycle that might be happening at a given time—-Why is it so difficult for small business people to raise capital?
5. How does your system, Fund Road Map, help business owners raise the capital they need?
6. What’s the experience of using the system like——how does it work?
7. What are some of the benefits—-beyond raising capital itself, for a business owner who gets online with your business planning system?
8. What’s on the horizon in terms of growth for funding road map——where are you today and where do you want to be with the project?

1. It seems your career in radio may have led you to the world of small business marketing. How did the work you did in radio inform the work you’re now doing for small businesses?
2. What’s missing from the way small businesses approach the matter of marketing?
3. You’ve have constructed a step-by-step process to help small businesses called the Marketing Map. If you would, please give us a tour of the Marketing Map, what it is and how it works?
a. FOCUS
b. POSITION
c. FRAMEWORK MARKETING
d. MASTER THE WEB
e. PR & AFFILIATE MARKETING
f. SALES & REFERRAL MKTG
g. ADVERTISE
4. You’ve produced segments for The Dave Ramsey Show and for Money Matters with Howard Dayton—-what kind of work did you do with these shows and what was your own “take-away” from that money-centric journalism experience?
5. Tell us about Embark Business Advancement—-what does your company do?

Jon offered a very practical insight about the SEO process for any website. Here are some of the questions that guided this interview segment:

1. Why did you write Content Rich?

2. Why should businesses buy this book, how can it make a difference in their marketing plans?

3. How are ad agencies and search marketing firms doing a dis-service to their clients?

4. Why are the techniques you discuss perfect for companies facing shrinking marketing budgets in a recessionary economy?

5. What would you tell a company that hasn’t written much content or started down the path to writing articles, press releases, site content and other types of online copy?

6. What are keywords and how do you perform keyword research?

7. What’s the future of online content and online marketing in general would you say?

8. Why is this copywriting book better than the rest out there? How is it different?

9. What are “meta tags” and how do they play a role in SEO copywriting?

10. What is “Search Engine Optimization”?

11. How do you perform competitive research online?

12. How do blogs fit into the SEO copywriting universe?

13. How would you go about doing a content analysis on a website?

14. What are some of the tricks of SEO copywriting?

Today, Bruce is embarking upon a national radio appearance campaign to inform small business owners regarding President Barak Obama’s Small Business initiatives and their impact on small business in today’s economy.

1. Before we dive into Obama’s Stimulus Package—You’re the author of Birthing the Elephant—-what’s your book all about?

2. Okay—-let’s shift to the Stimulus Package—-if you would, give us a quick overview of the economic stimulus package for small business….
a. Help firms obtain the loans they need to meet day to day operations
b. Make important short term operations and meet payrolls

3. What are some of the key programs included in the package?
a. Business Stabilization
b. Microloans
c. Refinancing

4. How do the incentives included in the package provide the catalyst for business growth?
a. Tax cuts for small owners are aimed at encouraging people to spend more money

5. Let’s talk about the geography—-do some regions in the US benefit more from the stimulus package than others?
a. Certain SBA loans do target particular areas
6. I know you’re getting feedback from your Scripps Howard Column—-what are you hearing the street about the Stimulus?

How we help you—

• Find hidden profits through our proprietary purchasing processes and cost reduction methodologies
• Focus on non-core operating expenses which client personnel are generally too busy or lack the expertise to do
• Work on a no-risk contingent fee basis — No savings, No fee

What’s in it for you?

• Increased profitability and company valuation
• Access to our experts who average 15-20 years of category specific experience
• Minimal investment of your time
• Average cost savings of 20%
• Average payback over 2 years is over $10K/hour invested by client
  
  Representative categories we review-
  o Freight and Courier Services
  o Voice and Data Communications
  o Merchant Card Fees
  o Office Consumables
  o Leased Equipment
  o Printing
  o Janitorial and Cleaning Supplies
  o Waste and recycling
  o Payroll Processing
  o Temporary Personnel
  o Factory Consumables
  o Document Storage
  o Packaging
  o Other Categories upon request
  
  Sample Case Studies

• Saved 23% on a $450,000 parcel freight spend with incumbent supplier
• Saved 32% on a $122,000 office supplies spend with a new supplier
• Saved 32% on a $152,000 merchant card processing fee spend with new supplier
• Saved 51% on a $105,000 telecom spend with incumbent supplier
• Saved 30% on a $763,000 telecom spend with a new supplier
• Saved 18% on a $1.5MM freight spend with the incumbent supplier

Another way to think about it—- 20% savings on a $250,000 spend would equate to an additional $500,000 in revenue assuming a 10% profit margin

For further information contact:
J.D. Heiden, Director 786-522-4268
jheiden@expensereduction.com

Jill Konrath

Chief Sales Officer, Author, Speaker & Trainer

Jill Konrath, a leading-edge sales strategist and business advisor, is a popular speaker at annual sales meetings and association events. She helps sellers crack into corporate accounts, speed up their sales cycle and win big contracts.

She’s the author of the instant sales classic, Selling to Big Companies, an Amazon Top 25 sales book for 3 years running. Most recently, Fortune magazine selected it as one of eight “must read” sales books, along with classics such as How to Win Friends & Influence People and Getting to Yes.

As a thought leader in the selling and marketing arena, Jill also publishes an industry-leading newsletter and hosts an award-winning blog. In 2007, she launched the Sales SheBang conference for women in sales.

Jill has written hundreds of articles on sales strategies and is frequently quoted in top business media. She’s appeared in Entrepreneur, New York Times, Business Journal, Selling Power, Sales & Marketing Management as well as countless online publications and radio shows.

Most recently, her expertise has been cited in the following books:

Jill serves as on the Advisory Board for Landslide Technologies, Inc., a sales productivity and performance tool. In addition, she’s on the Board of Trustees for the Society for Business Development Professionals.

In 2004, Jill was selected as a FAST 50 semi-finalist by FAST Company magazine for creating a web resource for small business owners. Additionally she was selected as a “Women Changemaker of the Year” by the Business Journal of Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Her joy in selling, combined with an innate ability to teach, led her to present countless training programs for colleagues, create a myriad of sales tools, coach dozens of trainees and to work on new product launches – in addition to her sales job! This was the impetus for starting her own sales consultancy.

In addition to her work in the sales field, Jill is a Founding Mother of Awesome Women, a nonprofit focused on creating a world in which “every woman’s voice makes a difference.” She’s also an active member of the National Speakers Association.

Jill and her husband Fred share their home in White Bear Lake, Minnesota with Cali, the cat. Their daughter Katie just finished her Master’s program in Innovation and writes a popular creativity blog called Get Fresh Minds. During the fall, they frequently visit their son Ryan who’s studying aviation at the University of North Dakota and plays on the football team.

In her spare time, Jill loves to do New York Times crossword puzzles, take long walks, read (she suffers from ARD-Addictive Reading Disorder) and write.

Here are some of the questions guiding this interview with Tom:

1. How did you originally get into helping small businesses?
2. Why do so many small businesses fail? What crisis are they facing?
3. I know you concentrate on 4 key areas for small business. What are they?
4. You’ve said that SB owners would be well served running our business—like a hotel. What did you take away from the hospitality business that translates to small business at large?
5. There is not a small business owner on the planet that isn’t interested in getting more customers. What are some of your strategic or tactical approaches to making this happen?
6. Tell us about MY LITTLE BLACK BOOK TO SUCCESS—-why did you write it and what do you hope small business owners take away from it?

Corey Perlman quickly transforms business owners, entrepreneurs and company employees into Internet marketing “propeller-heads!” He’s the author of: eBoot Camp: Proven Internet Marketing Techniques to Grow Your Business, is a #1 Amazon.com bestseller and in major bookstores all over the world.

Here are some of the questions that guided this segment with Corey:

1. Tell us, if you would, about your career beginnings and what lead you to consolidating your approach to internet marketing?
2. Is there “one-thing” that many small business marketers just don’t really get about how to leverage the internet for their business?
3. Your book is eBoot Camp—tell us about the book and what we can expect to find discover from it?
4. When you set out to write eBoot Camp—how did you want to show up differently in terms of your recommended approach to this subject?
5. Maybe it would be good to get a little preview here-what are some ideas our listeners can take away from this segment—-ideas they can put to work right now in their own business?
6. Tell us about your other activities—-are you speaking, writing more, consulting?
7. Where can we find eBoot Camp?

Company Profile

PixelFish, Inc. is a technology-driven provider of award-winning video advertising solutions for small and medium-sized businesses and their partners. The company has developed a revolutionary platform for quickly and easily creating, distributing and optimizing the most affordable and effective video ads. PixelFish provides a wide range of video solutions to meet the varying needs and budgets of businesses of all sizes, supported by: its intuitive online application; a global network of more than 2,000 professional videographers; and dozens of online, broadcast and mobile ad distribution partners. The company’s patent-pending ad creation and optimization technology produces video ads that generate measurably higher response rates. Founded in 2006, PixelFish is a privately-held corporation headquartered in Torrance, CA, with additional locations in New York and Hyderabad, India. For more information, please visit http://www.pixelfish.com.

Questions covered in this episode:

1. What do most businesses feel is their best form of advertising and why are they way off?
a. I’d visit about how businesses rely on word of mouth because they see it as free. I’ll explain that word of mouth is slow, incomplete and more likely to be negative than positive.

2. Should a business strive to achieve name awareness?
a. I’ll visit about how many businesses want to “get their name out” and then explain in more detail what we call the Buying Funnel and how consumers must be taken from unawareness, to awareness, to a comprehension, to a conviction of your business before they will ever enter into the action stage which is the only stage you will ever see as the business owner. So you can see, if your goal is “awareness” you are long way away from a sale.

3. What is the biggest source of untapped revenue for most businesses?
a. We’ll talk about how businesses do such a poor job of communicating with existing customers. So many businesses collect a database of contact information and don’t do anything with it. Others assume that once the consumer has become a customer, they can move on to find other customers. It’s like relationships. We court someone and if we stop paying attention to them, they may seek out someone else who will. Customers are no different.

4. Where is the biggest waste of advertising dollars by most small businesses?
a. Easily, it’s the yellow pages. So many business owners feel they must be in the yellow pages to be legitimate. They can be in there; they just don’t have to invest thousands of dollars every year. Businesses in today’s economy need to spend time educating and not advertising the consumer to turn them into a customer. You have to proactive with that education. You can’t put your money in a book and hope it get’s opened to your ad. Of the six ways consumers use the yellow pages, the top four (92% of the users) are going to the book to find a specific name they already have in mind, not opening it for a random search.

5. Does a company need a website?
a. Yes. Yes. Yes. It does not have to be something that costs thousands of dollars but because of the way consumers do business, especially with someone new, they’ll most likely check out the company website. In addition, directing consumers to the website is a much more efficient way to promote a business. They just need to be sure the content is kept current!

6. What form of advertising is the most effective?
a. This question is hard to answer because each market a company is in will be different but there are six key characteristics that should be considered when deciding which media to select and I’ll cover that list of six.

7. Why is advertising often a test of a business and not of the advertising?
a. We offer a video titled the Marketing Bridge. It discusses all the areas of a company that impact the marketing and advertising is just one of the steps on that bridge. If any of the other steps are out of whack, it will negatively affect any advertising done.

8. When developing advertising messages, who is the most important person to talk to?
a. We can talk about how the customer is usually not included in the discussion about what is great about a business and that they need to be.

9. How much should I budget for my advertising?
a. Often the question asked by businesses is how little can I spend and get by when they should be asking how much firepower I can bring to the marketplace to dominate. Customers are the life blood of the business. They can’t short change that process, especially in today’s economy. We can talk about several studies that reinforce the need to maintain and even increase a presence in difficult economic times because of the short and long term benefits.

10. What’s the key element in customer service?
a. The customer. We can talk about how businesses spend a great deal of time and money on operations, product, employees and procedures but you can’t have great customer service if you have no customers to serve.

Katie K. Snapp comes from a corporate business environment and technical production, where the daily grind was less than inspiring, until she found the hidden secrets in transforming work into creative prospecting. After leaving the engineering world 21 years ago, she became a Leadership Performance Coach and a nationwide speaker. She thrives in interacting with groups and training teams to be more productive while having fun.

Of primary interest to Katie when developing clients’ leadership potential is the concept of Story. Through collaborative coaching, the client uncovers the subtle themes and underlying patterns that define his or her style and history. Then, intentional change can occur by articulating empowering beliefs and owning the behaviors to author the desired future.

Katie’s first book Skirt Strategies: 249 Success Tips for Women in Leadership has just been published and is a collection of inspiring ideas and practical tips for woman in leadership.

Katie is also the founder of Better-Leadership.com, an online resource for what she refers to as the “Everyday Leader.” This ever-growing website serves as a worldwide outreach to educate leaders in not only the basics of leadership as well as emerging leadership topics.

More recently, he’s been reporting on the extraordinary issues at the forefront of the US economy…all of are effecting small business owners…

Here are the show notes from this edition:

1. Let’s get right into it—-the mortgage meltdown and subsequent deep recession. About 6 weeks ago, I heard you gave an extremely coherent, and accessible overview of the progression of economic events leading to where we are today—-culminating your description of the current inability to readily identify the so-called toxic assets in the mortgage securities markets. If you would, give us a cliff-note version for our audience of entrepreneurs so they can better understand the progression as it unfolded and why it’s created the lending difficulties they’re experiencing at the street level?

2. In your March 2 Article U.S. Likely to Keep the Reins on Fannie and Freddie you’re discussing the near-if-absolute-nationalization of Fannie May & Freddie Mac…and with it, the suggestion that these once-government, then privatized organizations, may never be the same in terms of the collateral damage is being done internally. Why are these 2 entities the only lubricants at the US government’s disposal to get mortgages moving again?—-and behind that question—-why do think it might be so difficult to re-privatize them on down the line?

3. Let’s turn to the small business environment, this is our core audience—— This week the Obama administration announced measures designed to help loosen credit facilities for small businesses. Any thoughts or comments on the structure or substance of the package?—-And how do we know the banks will actually start making loans again—-do we have confidence that they’ll behave accordingly?

a. 90% Guarantees of SBA Loans
b. Reduction of Origination Fees
c. 15 Billion in loan purchases to provide capital for new loans

4. Finally—-back to the broader economic picture…Many have suggested that we still have some serious credit issues left to unwind—-auto loan portfolios, consumer credit portfolios, combined with an environment of rising unemployment, so forth. Assuming these shoes will ultimately drop—- does the US government have enough tools in it’s toolkit to continue to (at least somewhat) mitigate against catastrophe?

5. From your perspective, what might this pending unraveling look like for the US alone for the next 3-5 or even 10 years down the line?

Feed Shark

Clate Mask, CEO

Clate loves to turn small businesses into big businesses. His decades of experience with paper routes, door-to-door sales and start-up ventures give him the heart, entrepreneurial fire and courage to think big. His economics, MBA and law degrees give him the formal training to turn that entrepreneurial fire into a successful, revolutionary company that creates value for everyone associated with it. So, while his grad school friends pursued traditional jobs in Corporate America, Clate wanted to build small businesses.

A year before finishing grad school, Clate was bitten by the technology bug. He began working for a dot com start-up called North Sky, where he continued to work throughout school. He wrote the business plan and helped to build and sell the company to About.com in December of 1999 for $42 million. After the acquisition, he took control of several Internet properties, converted those properties from ‘free’ to ‘fee’, created additional revenue streams and then watched the company go through another acquisition. At that point, it was time for Clate to get in on the equity game, so he joined Infusionsoft and set out to build the company to be the leading provider of Automated Follow-up Marketing solutions for small businesses (that want to become big businesses). He loves what he does at Infusionsoft and his passion can be felt the moment he starts talking.

When Clate isn’t working to build Infusionsoft, he loves to spend time with his gorgeous wife and six great kids. The balancing act can be difficult at times, but his family supports him 100% and serves as a constant reminder about what really matters in life. As much as Clate loves to write and execute a good business plan, his real joy comes from the time he spends with his family.

Clate loves to play golf (he shot his first hole-in-one on June 14, 2006!), basketball, softball and racquetball – and don’t even get him started about ping pong.

Read Clate’s e-book, “The Edge of Success: 9 Building Blocks to Double Your Sales”.

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Jerry Straks is a certified coach and management consultant. Jerry
spent 25 years in the high-tech industry prior to founding his own management consulting business in
2003. He completed a graduate level coach certification program at John F. Kennedy University in 2004
and began a master’s degree in organizational psychology. He has worked for companies ranging from
Fortune 500 companies to startups. Managing teams ranging from 5 to 250, Jerry has led corporate
functions ranging from engineering to marketing and product management, including holding P&L
accountability. In addition to line management, he has experience in corporate strategy, business
development, and business planning and analysis. He also has extensive experience working with nonprofit
organizations, including having been on the board of directors for an organization that builds and
manages low-income retirement communities.

From this broad base of experience Jerry has distilled certain key principles and skills necessary for
effective leadership in the twenty-first century. His focus for coaching and consulting is sustainable
leadership development and his goal is to help organizations establish a culture based on the core
principles of sustainable leadership he has developed over the last three decades. A significant focus of
his business is in helping companies of all sizes define and calibrate their own “scorecard” and processes
for investment decision support, referred to as “project portfolio management.” Customers ranging
from Johnson Controls and Carlson Companies to Robert Half and Safeway have been able to get
“more bang for the buck” by choosing initiatives and projects that best support their strategy and
mission. Regardless of the thorny problem he is brought in to help solve, he utilizes coaching,
organization development, conflict management, and management consulting to help craft and
implement creative, pragmatic solutions that fit the customer’s needs in ways that will last.

A paperboy, or papergirl, was once the quintessential American iconic job. Millions of boys and girls learned invaluable life and business lessons from loading and lugging the daily news. Past paperboys, winners in all walks of life, include Warren Buffet, Jack Welch, Martin Luther King, Jr., Sam Walton, Jerry Seinfeld, and Jackie Robinson. Rain: What A Paperboy Learned About Business recaptures the magic, the self-discipline, the on-the-job education of generations of America’s youngest entrepreneurs. A Fox innovation is The Rain Reader. The Rain Reader is an analytic that follows the story narrative enabling interested readers, and students of business, to study the varying complexities of Rain.

ABOUT JEFFERY J. FOX

Jeffrey Fox is an accomplished consultant, popular speaker and the acclaimed author of a series of hard-hitting international business best-sellers, including: Secrets of Great Rainmakers is Jeffrey’s latest title, released in February 2006.

Based on over 50 interviews with industry leaders from a wide variety of fields,
Jeffrey Fox reveals the proven techniques and hard-won wisdom that have
helped great rainmakers get ahead, along with his trademark brand of counterintuitive
insight and commentary that have made his books so popular.

How To Become A Rainmaker was published in 2000 and quickly became a
BusinessWeek and Wall Street Journal best-seller. It has become required reading
among some of the top sales organizations in the world, including Citigroup,
IBM and GE. More than four years after its publication,
RAINMAKER continues to hit the bestseller lists.

The Dollarization Discipline, co-authored with consultant Rick Gregory, was
recently named one of the Top 30 Business Books of 2005 by Soundview Executive
Book Summaries. This in-depth book explains how smart companies
can effectively “dollarize” the economic value created by their products and
services.

How to Make Big Money in Your Own Small Business was published in May
2004. It’s crisp delivery of broad-ranging small business ideas has made it an
instant success.

How to Become a Marketing Superstar was published in May 2003 is on its way
to being another business best-seller. Its entertaining and iconoclastic marketing
insights ring true to marketers in all industries.

The Entertainment Technology Center at USC, founded in 1993 with the help of George Lucas, is a non-profit organization within USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. The ETC brings together the top entertainment, technology and consumer electronic companies to evaluate what consumers really want, which is then translated to the companies that make technology products. The ETC strives to show how technology impacts the next generation consumer, which will improve the consumer experience and will uncover new revenue streams for entertainment-related products. Current ETC sponsor participants include; Disney, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox, Viacom/Paramount, Warner Bros., along with Alcatel-Lucent, LG Electronics, Inc., Cisco, Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, Inc., Lucasfilm Ltd, Sharp, TATA Consultancy Services, Thomson and Volkswagen of America.

KC also heads the ongoing research efforts in the ETC’s Anytime/Anywhere Content Laboratory (AACL) where the entertainment, consumer electronics and technology services industries explore how consumers will interact with high-quality entertainment in an integrated environment. This research identifies consumer trends and opportunities that facilitate cross-industry discussions about today’s reality and tomorrow’s potential digital entertainment offerings.

Prior to joining the ETC, KC worked in content development both as a supervising sound designer on numerous feature films and as the producer of the animated DVD series Junior’s Giants. KC has a BS in Film from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the University of Southern California.

Here are some of the questions we covered:

1. How did you first get involved with the work you now do at ETC?
2. Content is king and digital technology is the way we deliver it. When these companies get together to evaluate and consumer behaviors at ETC, what does that process look like?
3. In terms of consumer preferences—-what’s the most compelling or exciting trend you’re now seeing around the corner—-what would it be?
4. You also head up the research at the ETC’s Anytime/Anywhere Content Lab—-what happens there?—-is this is “alot about mobile”?
5. Let’s talk 3-D. When we think of 3D, that image of those funky glasses comes to mind. How does the new 3D work?
6. Is the 3D Super Bowl ad for Monsters vs. Aliens a sign of the mainstreaming of 3D?
7. What is the future of 3D?

So many businesses are being tested with the uncertainty of these troubled times in our global economy. Some will falter or even go out of business; others will weather through the storm and become even stronger, smarter and more adaptive—-consider ‘Survival of the Fittest’——See Wikipedia.org for more info. Are you the latter? Are you ready to take control of your brand’s destiny? YES or YES?

Every business, whether small, medium or large; start-up or well-established; B2B or B2C has a unique Brand DNA. Have you defined yours? Have you dug deep, just scratched the surface, or never thought about it? Well, then, now is the time—-more than ever, to make sure you and your employees are crystal clear on who you are as a brand, what you stand for, and what you promise to deliver to your customers. Now is the time—-more than ever, to define, build and evolve your brand from the inside out by aligning your leadership, culture, and processes with your unique Brand DNA to not only survive, but thrive in this and every economy.

Branding, let alone building a Brand DNA, is a concept that many companies struggle to understand because they believe Branding exists under the auspices of Marketing. Not so! Businesses typically look to marketing for the quick-fix immediate solution to a problem. Effective marketing may get your customers in the door but it doesn’t and cannot keep them coming back for more, nor does it transform them into loyal, brand champions. What compels your customers to come back for more is your brand’s ability to deliver a consistent, distinctive and relevant experience for all stakeholders.

To create the desired brand experience, you must first define the specifics of your brand then articulate it to your employees so that they are crystal clear on it:
A. Communicate!
B. Communicate!
C. Communicate!

We invite you to take the next 15 minutes to work ON your brand and answer the following eight questions. These questions are designed to help you glean some insight into your distinctive Brand DNA. Now is the time, as it is imperative to succeed and thrive in this troubled global economy.

1. What perception does your brand want to “own” in the minds of your market (employees and customers)?
Have you asked this question? Do you know how you want to be perceived?
Successful brands like Disney (fun, magical family entertainment), FedEx (on-time overnight delivery), Ritz Carlton (refined ambience), Volvo (safety), Google (innovation), and Southwest Airlines (low-cost and humor) all own a perception in the minds of their market. These companies have created processes, behavioral expectations and rituals that enable their employees to deliver on their brand——to build the desired perception.
You don’t have to be on the list of the most valuable and prominent global brands to take control of the perception you want to create and hold in your market space.

2. What is the distinctive style of your brand? In other words, how would you describe your brand’s personality? Are you hip and confident? Bold and eclectic? Or customer-centric and transparent? Think about how you could package your style into a distinctive brand experience on a multi-sensory, physical, emotional, intellectual and even spiritual level for your employees and customers. The Google culture has embraced a distinctive style (spontaneously creative). One way they emulate and foster their style is by hanging hundreds of feet of white boards throughout their campus offices in Northern California. Their employees jot down creative concepts, visual ideas and brainstorms on these boards to collaborate and share information. Frequently, ideas get chosen for further exploration.

3. What are the core values of your brand that guide your behaviors and business practices?
Values are guiding principles that form the basis of what is important to us. They give meaning to the intentions behind our brand and business practices. In Built to Last, by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, their research showed that strong brands have enduring values and they don’t waver from them. We’ve seen the negative effects of brands that don’t live by their values——their brand image is severely tarnished and in some cases we have seen the annihilation of a business (examples: Enron and Arthur Andersen). Think of the hundreds of thousands of people affected by these companies not living up to their values. Strong brands continuously refer to their values to drive their actions. In a global study of 365 companies by Booz Allen Hamilton & Aspen Institute, respondents reported that a company’s core values are most critical in two strategic business areas——reputation and relationships.

4. What are your unique differentiators that help create and leverage brand advantage? What are the things that make you stand out and set you apart from all others in your industry category/market space? Consider your point of difference in the products, services, solutions you provide your customers. Consider your proprietary intellectual capital such as your trade secrets or unique processes, awards or unique service delivery.
Here’s a great example——Build-A-Bear Workshop™. They reinvented the concept of toy manufacturing in a mall-based store. Their differentiators are in the retail experience they create with heavily themed and colorful stores that tantalize all the senses. Store associates (Master Bear Builders) share in the experience of the guest at each phase of the bear-making process. Build-a-Bear’s brand differentiation is in the experience it delivers to guests through their creativity, processes, product and personalized interaction. A great quote by Joseph Pine and James Gilmore, authors of The Experience Economy, “In the absence of a distinctive brand experience, price becomes the default in your customer’s purchase decision.” Build-a-Bear brand’s stores report an average income of double the typical retail outlet.

5. What standards of performance excellence will you adhere to across your brand scorecard: employees, customers, processes, and financial? Companies that have clearly defined standards of performance significantly increase their ability to manage and deliver on their business goals and strategies. Channeling employee behaviors, having established standards for service delivery, implementing processes that are followed without fail along with clear financial practices—-guides everyone within the company to support the Brand DNA.
Consider Ritz Carlton Hotels. They have their ‘Gold Standards’that set the guidelines for what they will deliver to their guests and what they pledge to their employees. These standards are a way of life and are reflective of their values and operating philosophy in action.

6. How will your brand reinforce who you are and the desired perception you want to create in the minds of your employees and customers? Implement a recognition program that reaffirms behaviors consistent with your values and the desired brand experience you want to deliver. Get your employees involved in developing the program and ensure everyone has the opportunity to recognize one another.
Ritz Carlton’s motto or Brand Mantra is famously known as, “We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen”. It has become a collective internal perception continually reinforced among all its employees and expressed consistently in how they interact with guests.

7. Does your brand have a strong point of view? Do you clearly stand for something different or special? What is it? Brands like Harley Davidson have a strong point of view. They continuously deliver the experience of freedom to its avid cyclists of kindred spirits across the world. They have created a customer community called ‘HOG’—-Harley Owners Group that is unlike any other in the world. The company sponsors rallies, road tours, festivals and other celebrations.

The power of the Harley Davidson’s brand symbol is expressed consistently in all their product lines, including maintaining the look and feel of their motorcycles while competitors have succumbed to design trends over the years. It’s no wonder they maintain a strong loyal base of customers. They are an authentic brand attracting and sustaining customers who share their values and experience of freedom. The brand has literally become a ritual to its customers.

8. What is your BRAND PROMISE to your employees and customers? What is a Brand Promise? It’s a clearly articulated, succinct declaration of the promise you commit to deliver at every employee and customer touch point. It’s reflected in every action and interaction. It is reflected in your processes and service delivery. It drives company decisions and the brand experience you desire to create. Brands with clearly articulated brand promises can better reinforce a culture that is inspired, passionate and energized. The Brand Promise becomes the guiding light for all employees and stops arguments.

I invite you to consider these questions carefully. What are the attributes of your unique Brand DNA? What is your Brand Promise? Take the time to define your Brand DNA, be true to what you stand for, consistent in how you deliver and thrive in these uncertain economic times. Visit http://www.BrandAscension.com for more information on the Brand DNA.

He’s been a real estate entrepreneur, executive recruiter, and today he’s an executive producer or new media sites such as Think Big Work Small.com and others. Here are some of the show note-questions from this segment:

1. You worked in the restaurant and service businesses for several years—-what golden nuggets did you take away from that experience?
2. When you consult or speak with small businesses or indy-sales people, what is the missing piece that you often find you can help them with? The part they may not intuitively “get” themselves?
3. Some call you a BOOM specialist—-that is, you have a natural ability to see trends before they happen. How do your think about what’s on the horizon—-is there a method to your ability to do this?
4. You’re the executive producer at Think Big Work Small. What is Think Big Work Small?—-tell us about the project there…
5. Why is video so important to the internet sales process?
6. How do you suggest small business owners or solopreneurs use social media as a part of their sales strategy?
7. We’re in a period of economic dislocation not seen since the 1930’s. How are you suggesting your clients manage through this period of transition?

Bill Kasko is President and CEO of Frontline Source Group which is headquartered in Dallas, TX. Bill founded Frontline 5 years ago and provides both temporary and direct placements for technical services, IT, accounting/finance, HR, legal, admin/clerical positions. The company has grown from the original location in Dallas to over 7 regional locations throughout Texas. In 2007 & 2008, The Dallas Business Journal named Frontline Source Group the #1 Best Small Company to Work for in Dallas Fort Worth.

Recently, the SMU School of Business awarded the company with the Dallas 100 award for being the 59th fastest growing company in Dallas Fort Worth. At the 2008 American Staffing Association Staffing World convention in San Diego, Frontline was honored as the leader in marketing communications for staffing agencies throughout the United States and received the 2008 ASA Staffing Voice Award for Excellence.
Bill and his team have also hosted the country’s First All Employment Talk radio show on CBS radio in Dallas. The company recently moved the show to a new internet based radio venue with their creation of JoberTalk.com Prior to starting Frontline Source Group, Bill was a Division Director with Robert Half International and Sapphire Technologies.