Management

Tim Berry was featured on Jim Blasingame’s Small Business Advocate radio show yesterday.

Succession planning is a big part of the long-term planning for millions of small businesses. Tim Berry has studied this and actually done it successfully, and he talks with Jim Blasingame about his advice based on his experience.

You can listen to the full show by clicking on the image below.

And be sure to check out the Small Business Advocate website! Jim and his amazing staff have a wealth of information contained on the website.

Tags: jim blasingame, radio appearance, succession planning, Tim Berry
Posted on March 17th, 2009 | No Comments »

Having run a small business with almost 50 employees, sometimes I was conscious of the thought, ” am I a good boss?” What makes a good boss?

I felt we had a great environment with energetic, committed “team” members. We were one individual part of a national company that I was a partner with, but in our local branch we were responsible for our own profit center.

The partners in the company visited each office/showroom from across the nation each month to review financials and to be hands on. We were always told, when partners visited, that we had a very good working environment. A great team of people that seem to be all focused on the “better good, big picture.” I called it building a “Culture for Success.”

As a owner/manager I always thought it was essential to empower your employees to think on their own, be creative and take accountability for our financial statement. Another key aspect, was to be involved and have information fed to you, the “man in the middle.”

Without good information, you can’t make good decisions, so hold meetings that are pre-scheduled and have an itinerary that you stick to. Have the meetings on time, be organized and interactive with employees. Request input and acknowledge good input by using and implementing. Another key component, is be organized. Organization creates flow, flow creates a purpose and a purpose creates productivity.

1. empower your employees
2. be the “man in the middle”
3. team meetings that are interactive
4. be organized

and last but not least

5. hold everyone accountable.

Follow these steps and you’ll create an environment for a “culture of success” that not only you, but your employees will be responsible for. They will thank you for it.

Tim Nagle
www.TheMarketingCoachVa.com

Tim Nagle is the owner of The Marketing Coach. Tim works with select small companies who want to grow their business to the next level. He is a highly regarded professional marketer with over 15 years experience and is known for his immensely practical approach and ideas. Tim has been involved in a broad range of marketing & business activities which gives him a wealth of knowledge to bring to The Marketing Coach clients.

Tags: culture of success, Duct Tape Marketing Coach, Management, Marketing, Tim Nagle
Posted on January 27th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

This is a time of year when family and good cheer should take precedence over work and things like email monitoring. Many of us will step away from our inboxes and turn our focus on real boxes — those containing gifts.

Of course that’s not to say that messages aren’t going to continue materializing in your inbox. In fact, you might even get a few good ones — potential leads, perhaps.

Given that fact, it’s impractical to consider stepping away from the mess entirely — as recommended in this Lifehacker.com blog post. This might work for the few of us who can afford to pass by viable opportunities or for those among us who don’t place a premium on customer service.

But for the rest of us, it would be nice to find a solution built to distribute the workload of customer and business email so that when one person steps away from her inbox, others can pick up the slack — and see that no opportunity is missed.

For instance, Email Center Pro was designed to manage exactly this scenario. By centralizing all of your email in a single, transparent location, there’s no longer a need for one person to manage all of it.

And that means that you can step away from your business email with a peace of mind — because you know that messages are no longer piling up in eager anticipation of your return. Instead what’s piling up is leads.

Jason Gallic
Product Marketing Manager
jason@paloalto.com

Tags: Email Center Pro, email overload, lost leads, managing email, vacation email
Posted on December 19th, 2008 | No Comments »

If you have a question or a technical issue with a product that Palo Alto Software produces, you can call us. It’s true. You can pick up the phone and dial 800-229-7526 and get right to a real live person. You can talk to any of our sales or technical support team. We don’t have a complicated phone tree. We don’t have you press a series of buttons to direct you to the right department, you call in and you’ll talk to a person who can direct you to the right department in a matter of moments.

Don’t want to talk to us directly? That’s ok. You can chat with us. You can go on our website and click on the Live Chat button and get a live person answering your questions. If the chat isn’t open, because we go home to our families at night, then an email with your question is sent and the next morning it has first priority to be answered.

These people work right here, in the Palo Alto Software office, within shouting reach of the developers, marketing department and upper management. There’s never a single moment that the team isn’t overheard by the entire company. Yeah, we’re that involved in the happiness of our customers.

So, still not interested in chat or phoning? That’s ok, you can email us. We use our own dogfood here, Email Center Pro. It’s the best way to make sure every email coming into our company is handled quickly and competently. Every email is answered within a 24 business hour turn around, but more than likely you’ll get an answer by the end of that work day. You might even get an answer from one of the team after hours or on the weekend. Not because it’s required, but because the team has a commitment to making sure people looking for help are answered.

Let me say that again. They have a commitment to making sure any customer reaching out to us is heard and responded to.

I’m telling you this because when I run into a company that literally makes me go around in circles to find technical support answers and tells me that sure I can call them for help if I give them $30 dollars to get the phone number first… I get frustrated.

And I have to tell you, a frustrated customer is a customer that won’t evangelize your product. They won’t return to get the newest version either. At least this customer won’t.

I know this isn’t a new subject here on the BIG blog, but I feel I have the responsibility to point it out when I see it. Good customer service isn’t hard to give. It’s actually a lot easier than you might think. And it’s vital. It’s so important. It’s the difference between success and the “going out of business” sign.

Good customer service is customer retention. It’s repeat business.

It’s your reputation.

Make sure it’s a priority in your business.

‘Chelle Parmele
Social Media Marketing Manager
Palo Alto Software

Pssst. Have you signed up for the Back to the Fundamentals webinar? Time’s running out, don’t miss your chance.
November 17th, 2008 at 9 a.m. PST

Tags: customer service, grow your business, palo alto software
Posted on November 13th, 2008 | 2 Comments »

There’s a lot of talk in the media and the blogsphere about the economy and how businesses will be reacting to the climate. Many are guessing there will be layoffs coming in the next several months. PR and Marketing departments are tightening their belts and some companies are cutting those departments altogether. Pretty scary times. But they don’t have to be.

If you look carefully, you’ll find a small but very vocal group of business advisers and business owners who are being smart and not reacting blindly to what is happening in the world.

They’re sitting down with their budgets, their management teams and consultants and really looking at what needs to happen to ensure their businesses survive.

If business is slowing down, what are you doing to ensure your customers keep coming back? If your competitor slashed their advertising budget, isn’t this the time for you to add a couple more budgeting dollars to pick up where they’ve left off? That expensive marketing tool or reporting system that costs you thousands of dollars a month – have you checked to see if there’s a low cost alternative that does pretty much the same thing?

Don’t doom your business by reacting too strongly to what’s going on. Sit down and make good decisions about where your money is being spent and where it will do even more good in the future.

Please join us November 17th, 2008 for a special webinar by Tim Berry on the importance of going Back to the Fundamentals of business.

Sign up for Tim Berry’s Webinar!

Tags: backtofundamentals, business planning, global entrepreneurship week, smart planning, Tim Berry, webinar
Posted on October 21st, 2008 | 1 Comment »

Ok. Maybe the title is a little bit harsh, but it got your attention, right? Why is it that more and more these days I feel that companies I purchase products and services from are telling me to “shut up and take it”. Let me give you just a few real examples of times I have felt disrespected as a customer in the last few months:

1. I recently bought some plane tickets for my family to go to London over Thanksgiving. The tickets were not cheap, as traveling from Oregon to London these days is simply not affordable. I spent over $1,000 per ticket. Children under 12 years old are supposed to receive a 20% off discount on international tickets. My boys are ages 2 and 4. I purchased the tickets, and there was no discount. I called United Airlines. After the ridiculous amount I had just spent on tickets I was told that I bought tickets that were too “cheap” and for a class that does not allow the 20% discount. I could though, buy a different class and spend $450 more per ticket, and get the 20% discount on 2 tickets. I am no math genius, but seriously, how dumb do they really think I am? An almost 50% increase in price to get 2 tickets at a 20% decrease of the new higher priced ticket???? Shut up, you stupid customer!
2. Our company uses a service provider to handle some of our marketing to customers. I won’t be specific here on purpose. Through an error that happened due to a bug in THEIR system, they discontinued our account. We are paying customers, paying them roughly $500 per month. They chose to drop our account rather than fix the bug. Shut up, you stupid customer.
3. Our TiVo, which was less than one year old broke. It was still under warranty. First it stopped recording programs, then it refused to re-boot. We simply could not get it to turn on. My husband called as was told that they could replace it under warranty, for an up-front fee of $350. They would ship us a new unit, and then credit us $300. The remaining $50 would be a “repair” charge. Last I checked a one-year warranty should simply replace the unit. What’s this BS about a repair charge — when nothing was repaired. The unit simply stopped re-booting. We were sent a NEW unit as per the warranty. Shut up, you stupid customer

So I could go on. But you get the picture. More and more companies seem to be taking this approach. Charge the customer everywhere and anywhere. Promise them one thing, deliver another, and then be annoyed that they point it out. As you think about your customer interactions, I challenge you to create policies and customer experiences that put the customer first. That goes back to the old adage that “the customer is always right.” I can guarantee that you will see a positive change in your business if you re-think the customer experience. Don’t join the new line of thought that treats customers like they are idiots to be taken advantage of. Think about how you can make sure that your customer is truly always right. Listen to your customers. Give them what they want. Your business is sure to be better off because of it.

Sabrina Parsons aka MommyCEO

www.emailcenterpro.com

Tags: customer experience, Small Business
Posted on September 29th, 2008 | No Comments »

The science behind email behavior is extensive, I’m sure, and not something that I purport to know much about, from a factual standpoint. Most of the email-based thoughts and assumptions I make throughout my day are driven by a fair bit of intuitiveness — with a dash and a half of instinct and a peppering of intelligence gathering.

I would hazard a guess that most people fall into my category — that is, if they think at all about email as anything more thhan simply a communication medium.

But not Kaitlin “Ducky” Sherwood. You can click on her name to read her full bio, but I’ll give you enough information to establish context. She’s written two books on overcoming email overload, was the first Webmaster at the University of Illinois (during the Mosaic creation days) and just recently earned an MS in Computer Science.

I got to spend an hour on the phone with her, aggressively asking for her opinion on email and cautiously tip-toeing into her thoughts on Email Center Pro.

Sherwood speaks with confident conviction about all manner of topics, but, for my purposes, focused most of her energy on email. Much of what was said centered around the idea that, as yet, the perfect email system doesn’t exist. And the reason for that is that no provider is meeting all of Sherwood’s standards — many of which have to do with efficiently and effectiveely moving through email in a reasonably organized way.

She chuckles at the notion of “Inbox Zero,” the popular concept that basically mystifies people into thinking they’ve properly dealt with all of their messages just by clearning their inbox. But, have they? Have they adequately addressed that communication channel, or have they simply shifted it from one place to another so as to better manage the guilt associated with 100 unread messages?

Sherwood argues for the latter, asserting that the psychology of seeing “0″ as an Inbox tally is ggiven disproportionate weight in relationship to proper management of email as a communication vehicle — creating a false sense of security, if you will.

Much of that, Sherwood continues, is driven by the passionate pursuit of perfect filtering. Users constantly seeking to compartmentalize the various buckets of information flowing into their Inboxes chew up time that can’t possibly be recovered through the convenience associated with “more easily” scanning through those folders.

In essence, filters/folders/etc. are not effective means of organizing data — given the existence of an uber-powerful search function. Wiith the reality of virtually limitless data storage, it no longer makes efficient sense to try to organize things the way we needed to when filing cabinets held all of our pertinent paper work. Without proper paper management, I might lose a week looking for a single document. Now, I type “2006 tax returns” into the search bar and PRESTO!

In light of that, it’s comforting to know that an advanced search functionality provides the infrastructure for version 2 of Email Center Pro, which is scheduled for release in the next couple of weeks.

So, do the psychological aspects of email resonate with you? Do you struggle against the rising tide of email overload? What is your method for managing your inbox?

Jason Gallic
Product Marketing Manager
jason@paloalto.com

Tags: , e-mail, email, Email Center Pro, organization
Posted on September 25th, 2008 | No Comments »

Yesterday Cale Bruckner had his 13th anniversary with Palo Alto Software. Vie Radek had hers on April 15, Connie Muller this Thursday, and Jake Weatherly and Teri Epperly next year.

So I know that 13 years is nothing compared to Microsoft or IBM or General Motors, but what’s cool about these anniversaries is that there were only 10 or so employees back in 1995, and most of them are still with us.

That, in small business, is an achievement. Their achievement, putting up with the ups and downs of a small software company; and ours, in keeping the good people.

There are 45 of us now. When Vie and Cale and Connie started, Business Plan Pro was in its first version, and was just barely making it in retail. Today it’s in its eleventh version.

The picture here was taken just two months shy of 12 years ago, in November of 1996, at a roller skating rink. The people shown here were more than half of Palo Alto Software’s employees at that time. The key people missing who are still with us are my wife Vange, who (I think) took the picture; and Jake Weatherly, who had just joined.

From the left, you have me, Luke Walsh (now with Right Media, a Yahoo subsidiary), Cale Bruckner, Connie Muller, Cristin Berry, Vie Radek, and Teri Epperly.

If you add Vange and Jake back into the picture, who were very much a part of it but not pictured, then the only people from back then that we’ve lost were Luke, now at Right Media; and three others, also not pictured, one who retired in his late 50s, one who moved to the East Coast when she married, and one who, well, didn’t fit. And he’s doing well on his own, in sales. Cristin, also pictured, was 13 when that picture was taken, but she’s also been a full-time employee since she graduated from Whitman College four years ago.

And I might add that it’s been more than 18 months now since the new management team took over, and Vie, Cale, Connie, Teri, and Jake are still with us. That speaks a lot for continuity, and what’s good about them, and us. That makes me proud.

Tim Berry
Founder and President
Palo Alto Software

Tags: employees, family business, longevity, Small Business, startup, Success
Posted on September 25th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

If you’re looking for a little Friday distraction or are curious what it looks like inside a venture-funded startup, set aside a few hours and catch some episodes of Start-Up Junkies on Hulu.com.

Start-Up Junkies is very reminiscent of the 2001 movie Startup.com, also a fun technology start-up documentary about the first Internet boom of the late 90s.

Both Start-Up Junkies and Startup.com  are interesting to watch, especially if you are a budding entrepreneur looking to raise a bunch of money and enter the sleep-deprived, fast-paced world of getting a technology company up and running quickly. They give you a good view into the stress involved, the personalties you will come across, and what it is like to be responsible for starting a company with someone else’s money. There are good lessons to be learned and plenty of “what not to do” moments.

Enjoy!

–Noah Parsons
COO
Palo Alto Software

Posted on August 22nd, 2008 | No Comments »

So everybody (pretty much) agrees that your employees are your greatest asset, and similar clichés, but how do you actually act on that? I just read Zane Safrit’s Tips and Resources to Hire the Best | Small Business Trends on Small Business Trends. His list of six good tips include three as readings, but still, this is an important subject. As so often happens with Small Business Trends, the comments are useful too.

Tim Berry
President
Palo Alto Software

Tags: hiring employees small-business
Posted on June 18th, 2008 | No Comments »