By PAUL SULLIVAN
Published: May 11, 2012

by - Douglas A. Gray - Google Books

February 27, 2012 | G&M | HARVEY SCHACHTER.

Make client goals your top priority

New York-based marketing consultant Andrew Sobel once asked a highly successful rainmaker what his secret was for bringing in so much business.

The answer was in the man's shirt pocket, where he kept a sheet of paper with the names of each client. Next to each name was that executive's most important goals. "My job in life is to help them accomplish those goals," the rainmaker said.

From Mark McKay's retweeting on February 22, 2012.

By DAVID BROOKS
Published: February 20, 2012

The trend is pretty clear. Fifty years ago, America was groupy. People were more likely to be enmeshed in stable, dense and obligatory relationships. They were more defined by permanent social roles: mother, father, deacon. Today, individuals have more freedom. They move between more diverse, loosely structured and flexible networks of relationships.

People are less likely to be trapped in bad marriages and bad situations. They move from network to network, depending on their individual needs at the moment. At the same time, bonds are probably shallower and more tenuous.

We can all think of reasons for this transformation. Affluence: people have more money to live apart if they want to. Feminism: women have more power to define their own lives. The aging society: more widows and widowers live alone. The information revolution: the Internet and smartphones make it easier to construct far-flung, flexible networks. Skepticism: more people believe that marriage is not for them.

But if there is one theme that weaves through all the different causes, it is this: The maximization of talent. People want more space to develop their own individual talents. They want more flexibility to explore their own interests and develop their own identities, lifestyles and capacities. They are more impatient with situations that they find stifling.

By ROBIN FINN
Published: February 17, 2012

Here’s what you’ll need to include in any SOW:

The project name.
The expected time period for completion.
Project milestones.
The precise deliverables at each stage of the project.
What is required from the client at each stage of the project.
A clear definition of the quality and standards for the project.

By Lauren Hepler, Cindy Y. Hong, and David Plotz

Posted Friday, Dec. 2, 2011,

NOVEMBER 15, 2011 | SmartMoney.com | By RESHMA KAPADIA.

Say goodbye to the old playbook: The best opportunities are no longer where you'd expect.

JANUARY 2, 2008 | WSJ | By CHRISTINA PASSARIELLO

LVMH Bottles Up Champagne Market
To Win Long Contracts From Grape Growers, Firm Helps Farmers.

The conglomerate, controlled by French billionaire Bernard Arnault, has managed in recent years to lay claim to the largest share by far of the Champagne region's limited grape output. LVMH has done that by cultivating the independent growers who raise most of the grapes -- including by offering them free farming help....LVMH's offer to these reluctant grape growers is a formula used in industries from autos to software makers: an after-sales service. Technical services such as determining the presence of mildew and parasites and identifying which grapes are maturing the fastest are provided free. By law, champagne houses have to charge for field services, including grape picking; LVMH provides those at cost.

April 30, 2007 | National Post | Jonathan Chevreau.

Business succession planning may be a $10-trillion market in North America, according to Perry Phillips, coauthor of a new book titled just that: The $10 Trillion Opportunity: A Guide for Professional Advisors.

Phillips cites studies that show 70% of Baby Boomers currently running small and medium- sized businesses will want to exit by 2015.

In Canada, the opportunity should be worth $1.3-trillion, he estimates

Sep/Oct 2010 | Business Owner pg.3 | Anonymous

You cannot grow revenue and earn high profits without first becoming great at lead generation. If you aspire to be in the business fast lane, lead generation is your fuel. Once leads are being consistently generated in sufficient quality and quantity to support revenue levels that will allow profitable operation of the business, the task turns to lead conversion. Finally, a business must satisfactorily deliver the purchased product or service if it hopes to endure. business. And so business, in its essence, is simply: 1. lead generation, 2. lead conversion, and 3. product or service delivery. Becoming "decent" at all three is probably enough to put yourself in the top 20%.

Jul/Aug 2010 | Business Owner (Riverside) pg. 12| Anonymous.

Business owners should keep a daily log of three things: bookings, cash collections and owner withdrawals. Setting goals and having focus are important. When you're busy, all prospecting goes out the window. You must deliver your service and handle administrative duties such as collections, but your job is to figure out how you can get the work done and also continually focus on growth. Business owners also tend to get distracted on all kinds of things that don't contribute directly to booking revenue and taking more money home.

marjo johne
Globe and Mail Update
Published Thursday, Sep. 22, 2011

Christie Henderson, partner at Henderson Partners LLP in Oakville, just
west of Toronto, says one way she established herself and her accounting
firm as leaders in personal tax accounting was by writing a series of
Tax Tips for Canadians for Dummies books.

Writing the books is time-consuming, she says, but it’s worth the effort
because the books increase brand recognition and position Henderson
Partners as an authority in its field.

“It immediately makes us unique in the eyes of our customers,” says Ms.
Henderson. “In addition to all the unique and proprietary things we’re
doing service-wise, we can also say that we’re the company that writes
the Taxes for Dummies books.

Again, no disrespect to Winkler, but what separates “The Fonz”
from the guy hawking hand painted scenes of the Caribbean island you
visited last, or the vendor at a fair whose booth is chock full of his
life’s work? How about the guy at the park that takes black chalk and
weathered paper and captures nuances in your face that are so subtle you
never noticed them? I’ll tell you what. Henry Winkler was in the room,
at the game, and they weren’t. Here is my humble advice for the day.
Take stock of the people you spend most of your productive time with and
creative energy on. Are they poised to get you in the room and a ticket
to the game? If not, something needs to change, and chances are they
won’t.

Go get in the game. You’re all pretty smart, I’m sure you’ll figure
the rest out.

September 8, 2011 | BNET |By Jeff Haden .

August 24, 2011 | BNET | By Jeff Haden
1. Everybody wants something.
2. What a few people want is just to feel good about helping others.
3. Everything before “but” is bull.
4. Boring people win.
5. Stop brainstorming and start borrowing.
6. The women you really want to meet don’t care about the kind of car you drive. Darn it.
7. Training is great; advice is not.
8. Visibility is everything.
9. Always take out something.
10. The people who say the least have the most to say.
11. Your parents are a lot smarter than you think.
12. Always learn on the fly.
13. Don’t expect to get back what you give.
14. You will only regret what you decide not do.

August 13, 2011 | globeadvisor.com | by JACQUIE McNISH.
Morgan Meighen's eccentric chief portfolio manager on why restraint is
the new order at 10 Toronto Street...Mr. Smedley has never been one to
follow the pack. Although he manages a fund whose history and clientele
are steeped in the Canadian establishment, he has deliberately remained
an outsider.

His investment strategies are fed by an intensive daily regime of
personal research that begins with five newspapers every morning and
ends with corporate and financial report readings every night before
bed. He hunts like a reporter for early leads about emerging stock
winners and still takes copious notes in Pitman's shorthand, which he
learned as a 16-year-old reporter trainee in Britain.

By TIM McKEOUGH
Published: August 24, 2011
Quirky

August 5, 2011 5:08 pm
Lunch with the FT: Amanda Staveley

By Roula Khalaf

By ANDREW MARTIN
Published: December 8, 2010

Where other dry cleaning entrepreneurs have tried to come up with clever
business models for dry cleaning, P.& G.’s primary innovation is in
the brand name itself: Tide Dry Cleaners, named after its best-selling
laundry detergent.

With more than 800,000 Facebook fans and legions of loyal customers,
Tide will draw people into the franchise stores, and superior service —
which includes drive-through service, 24-hour pickup and cleaning
methods it markets as environmentally safer — will keep them coming
back, company officials predict.

Aug. 3, 2011 |BNET|By Suzanne Lucas |Ever met a successful
wimp? No such thing. The person who succeeds in the world of work isn't
the person that refuses to take chances. Business owners must take
financial & personal risks, evaluate mkts. & spot gaps which
they try to fill. Sometimes they commit to paying other people’s
salaries before knowing for sure if they’ll bring in enough $ to pay
their own. Successful sales people go out every day & risk rejection
in order to sell their products. You can"t & expect customers to
call. SVPs didn’t get there by keeping their head down & doing
precisely what their bosses asked of them. They looked for new
opportunities, suggested new paths for the biz, made difficult
decisions..This isn’t advice to be irrational, nor rude. Be politely
firm. Think through your plans–you must have plans in the 1st. place.
Do take risks where there is potential for payoff, do speak up in
meetings, do work your ass off and do ask for the recognition you
deserve.

APRIL 5, 2011 WSJ By LAURA SAUNDERS

Jan/Feb 2010 | The Corporate Board | Andy Kessler.

Information now travels at the speed of light. The edge to human traders
is mostly gone, arbitraged out by fast computers.
Near-term blips in stocks will always be driven by those with industry
contacts, legal or illegal. The only way to truly beat the market long
term is to use your head, think out long-term trends, figure out where
productivity and therefore wealth is being created in the economy,
and invest alongside it.
— Andy Kessler,
author.

JUNE 7, 2011 | | By ROSALIND RESNICK

JUNE 5, 2011

Help From Family Has Its Costs

By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN

By Farhad ManjooPosted Tuesday, May 24, 2011

by Drew McLellan
Like 15 Retweet 5
May 17th, 2011

MAY 8, 2011
A Web Presence Without a Website
By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN

Crain's New York Business 27.18 (May 2, 2011): p0003. (742 words)

July/August 2001 | Searcher | by Larry Krumenaker

April 21, 2011, 7:12 am
A Plan for Working on (Not in) the Business
By JAY GOLTZ

April 19, 2011, 7:00 am
Managing the Business Side of the Business
By MP MUELLER

April 20, 2011 | BNET | By Jon Gelberg |

Nov. 1, 2004 |PROFIT|Rick Spence. What are the breakthrough
questions that create clarity? Asking abstract, personal questions
("What's your org.'s reason for being? Why would you be missed if you
were gone?") helps focus on a clients' real issues...VCs are probably
the best at questioning.Their job is to wade through heady optimism,
technical jargon, obscuring fluff & self-serving #'s to get to the
truth. They ask a series of questions, starting with the predictable
& straightforward and moving inexorably toward more oblique,
penetrating questions. Eg.: "Who're your existing customers?Target
customers?What constitutes an 'ideal' customer?" & "Who actually
writes the cheque?" Tom Stoyan's breakthrough question when talking with
a prospect (or a supplier, or anyone else), never overwhelm them with
details they don't want. Before rushing into a spiel, ask prospects if
they want the 30-sec. or the 3-min. version. Their response will help
you gauge their interest and calibrate your msg.

Apr. 7, 2011 |BNET|Jeff Haden “Innovative.” If you truly are
innovative, show me. Describe products developed, processes
modified.“Service provider.” says nothing. Sell gas? State that. Design
commercial office spaces? State it. Use plain language & state what
you do.“Proven track record.”Give facts & figures.Share on-time
performance rates, or waste %, or under-budget statistics…let your track
record be proven by achievements.Don’t have any yet? No problem; you
don’t have a track record either, so it’s moot. “Unique blend
of…”Describe why you’re better. “World-class.” The fact that you
provide products/services to a global customer base doesn’t mean you a
world-class company. “Collaborative approach.” Instead describe the
process. Show exactly how we’ll work together. “Outstanding customer
experiences.”Providing an outstanding customer experience is important;
State what's expected that will make my experience so outstanding.
“Dynamic.”. “Myriad solutions.” “Results oriented.”

FEBRUARY 9, 2011 By MIKE MICHALOWICZ Two words: a prospect's
first and last name. Feature these in a positive light and that's all
you need to generate genuine interest in your company. Best of all, when
you use the crowdsourcing method, it's free—free user-driven content,
free publicity for your business and free "good will" for your brand.

March 15, 2011, BusinessWeek By G. Michael Maddock and
Raphael Louis Vitón .Quit yawning and start seizing on the wealth
within segmentation data. Every department should demand to see this
information. a simple, three-part formula:

Step 1. Define success. Get as specific as possible. Step 2. Define the
characteristics you want your segment to have. Step 3. "Simply" find
what predicts/correlates with these variables.

Having decided whom you want to go after, find the variables that will
lead you to these people. Asking Lots of Questions

Having identified this market, you go out and ask the potential
customers within it as many questions as you can think of—how much they
weigh, what snacks they eat, whether they have kids or a pet. Then you
sort through the data and look for commonalities (Step 3).

March 15, 2011 | BNET | By Tom Searcy |
(1) It’s not all about you. See if there is a way you can be of help to
others--be a great problem solver. Along the way good things will happen
for you, too.
(2) Set your goals, primary and back-up
(3) Ask good questions. # “What business problem does your company
solve?” “What is the best example you have of how you are doing that?” #
“What has been the biggest win for you/your company in the last six
months?”
(4) Exit gracefully. “It has been so nice to spend a few minutes getting
to know you, I hope you have a great spring.” smile graciously and just
move on.

* MARCH 4, 2011

The Joy of Cooking Up a Plan

*
By BRUCE PALLING

February 25, 2011
Gordon Pitts
Why do so few Canadians grow companies past $1 billion in sales?

Canadians don't really appreciate or understand the significance of
enterprise business - start-ups, private firms and small- and
medium-sized companies. The success of enterprise businesses benefits
Canadian society. The wealth generated by the enterprise is spent in
Canada. It can't easily be taken somewhere else.

What are you going to do now?

I've already started investing in other high-tech companies in the
Kitchener-Waterloo area. I'll concentrate on technology areas I
understand.

Dec. 21 2010 | Forbes | Rich Karlgaard. Success is often a
matter of getting the ratios right. Business and investing success is
hardly possible without understanding ratios. Knowing the numbers is
important. But knowing the numbers in relation to other numbers will
make you a millionaire. You will see anomalies that others miss. I’ll
never forget a comment made by George Soros in July 2008, when oil was
$147.50 a barrel. A Goldman Sachs analyst had predicted oil was headed
to $200, but Soros knew better. Why? Because oil was already too
expensive compared to gold. At $147.50, oil was 1:6 the price of gold.
The normal ratio band is 1:10 to 1:15, said Soros. Either gold had to
rise, or oil had to fall. Because Soros could not see any inflation that
might drive gold higher, oil had to fall.

Dec. 17, 2010 | The Globe and Mail | RYAN CALIGIURI.
Grabbing the attention of potential buyers and progressively building
relationships are among the most difficult things to do in
business....Many professionals focus solely on promoting their own
products and services. They show very little focus on the prospect. It
was all about them. That’s a big mistake many entrepreneurs and
businesses make, and it radically limits the number of leads generated
from marketing activities.

If you want the marketplace to be more receptive to your marketing
communications, you need to stop talking about yourself and start
educating them.

In business, there are two types of marketers: egotists and educators.

December 3, 2010 | NYT | By LAURA M. HOLSON

Thank you for considering Happy Cog for your project.
Happy Cog projects start at $100,000 USD.
Kindly complete this Project Planner so we can determine if the unique
aspects of your project align with our capabilities and availability. We
realize it’s quite a bit to ask of you up front, but those that go on
to become Happy Cog clients often tell us it’s a worthwhile exercise.

October 11, 2007 | National Post |by Rick Spence

FEBRUARY 8, 2010 | Wall Street Journal | By RICHARD
GREENWALD. Anybody can become a consultant. But not everybody does it
well. Here's what you need to know to thrive. (1) Think Long Term.
think in terms of the long haul, preparing for a marathon, not a
sprint.; (2) Join a Network. successful consultants are in a network or
community of consultants. These networks are important sources of new
clients. ; (3) Have Your Own Space; (4) Think Like an Entrepreneur.
Don't drift from project to project. That's a mistake. Have a business
plan or mission statement.
Be known for the work that you do/ don't do. Organizing your business.
Use invoicing software to track billing, don`t mingle personal &
business finances, and keep good records for taxes or expenses. Think of
cash flows, future investments & downtime.

September 14, 2010 | Harvard Business Review | Whitney Johnson.
To close the gap between what we're paid and what we're worth, there
is a lesson to be learned from the stock market. The stocks that trade
at fair value or even a premium to their peers are those that know what
kind of stock they are, and then deliver, whether "disruptive innovation
— emerging growth," "sustaining innovation — best-of-breed," or
"being-disrupted — but dividend-paying." Not surprisingly, the stocks
that lead with their unique or disruptive capabilities command the
highest absolute multiples...Translating this to our careers, when we
proffer to the marketplace a disruptive skill set, focusing on our
distinctive innate talents rather than 'me-too' skills, we are more
likely to achieve success and increase what we earn. Any hard-won,
'me-too' skills can follow as a kicker.

August 25, 2010 | Seth Godin. My friend Marcia has a very
cool idea for large professional firms. As an architect, she realized
the firms were wasting time and money and efficiency in the way they use
their space. Roomtag is her answer.

The challenge is this: if your big law firm or accounting firm doesn't
think it has a space allocation/stuff tracking/office mapping problem,
you won't be looking for a solution. You won't wake up in the morning
dreaming about how to solve it, or go to bed wondering how much it's
costing you to ignore it. And so the marketing challenge is to sell the
problem. Imagine, for example, getting the data and publishing a list of
the top 50 firms, ranked by efficiency of space use. All of a sudden,
the bottom half of the list realizes that yes, in fact, they have
something that they need to work on.

Posted by Adam Taha on May 21, 2010 11:00 am

June 1, 2010 | Fast Company | By: David Lidsky. The New
Zealander and former ad man develops large-scale growth initiatives for
major firms seeking $100 million-plus in new revenue. He makes money
only if the idea works: "

"right size diligence" and frontline

MAY 21, 2010, By JANE PORTER

April 23, 2010 | New York Times | By PAUL SULLIVAN.

Good value, reflections on money, morality, and an uncertain world by Stephen Green. HB 835 G74 2010

March 12, 2010 | New York Times | By JENNIFER MENDELSOHN

Summit Consulting Group | by Alan Weiss

April 1, 2008 | NYTimes.com| By PAUL B. BROWN. Be more
productive within the existing 24 hrs. ¶Plan tomorrow today. Prioritize
and tackle the items on your list in order of their importance. ¶Do not
try to keep it in your head. Your mind is best used for the big picture
rather than all the details. ¶Sleep. ¶Take a speed reading class.¶Break
for lunch. Q: Where are the bulk of your revenues coming from? Are you
sure? When asked to explain their inability to manage their time, a
common reason people cite is “information overload.” Too much data to
keep up with. Dave Allen says," Too much information is not the problem.
If it were, we’d walk into a library and faint. Information overload
indicates we’re not managing our commitments effectively.” Implications
for JCK's clients & mission statement? “There are many ways to
avoid success in life, but the most sure-fire just might be
procrastination,”

June 2, 2009 | US News and World Report | By Mikal E. Belicove.


To ensure your website furthers its purpose, develop a plan in the form
of an RFP (request for proposal). The RFP describes each area of your
future site, how it works and what end it serves. Ideally, your RFP
should address at least the following:

* Website purpose
* Target audiences
* Design considerations
* Navigation
* User or account login requirements
* Audio/visual elements
* e-commerce, if necessary
* Search engine optimization requirements
* Hosting and maintenance
* Not-to-exceed cost
* Development schedule with deadlines and launch date
* Management structure

With RFP in hand, you’re now well-prepared to start building your
website internally--if you have the expertise and resources--or solicit
bids from website developers. Either way, your RFP will enable you to
manage the project more effectively and ensure the site conforms to your
vision.

Spring 2009 | LIMRA's MarketFacts Quarterly | by James O Mitchell.

Dec 1, 2008 National Underwriter | Life & Health | by John H Brown.

Nov/Dec 2005 | International Journal of Pharmaceutical
Compounding | by Russell A Waddill.
(1) product/service, (2) target customer, (3) value proposition
(competitive advantage in the market), and (4) value chain (how you
deliver your product/service to the customer).

May 1996 | Journal of Accountancy | by Leslie Dashew. How to reach business owners?
* Attend family business conferences.
* Use seminars, newletters on family business topics.
* Speak to Jaycees, Kiwanis, local chamber of commerce.

June 10, 2006 | The Globe & Mail | by Albert Warson. Profiles Michael Tippin.

Summer 2008 | University of Toronto Magazine | By Scott
Anderson. A $14-million gift from John and Myrna Daniels will
transform the Faculty of Architecture

Apr. 28, 2007| Report on Business Magazine | GORDON PITTS. Profiles Brett Wilson formerly of FirstEnergy

A Consultant’s Guide to Client Retention
Success Tip Code: KA-03
by: Paul Tulenko: Ph.D., MBA: Small Business Success Expert
Copyright © 2002

11 January, 2010 | Adam Smith, Esq. | post by Bruce MacEwen.
"Education, as a role for us, should I hope be obvious. We educate our
clients, " and "We don't just rent this knowledge out to our clients, we
should impart it so it becomes their own.
Financial/medical advisers are people to whom we entrust (one hopes) our
every secret, hope, and fear. We should serve the same function. ... We
should be able to provide them with various roadmap's, decision trees,
alternative ways of pursuing their objectives, with lesser and greater
ratios of return and reward. Hands-on personal care? Yes, because there
is no substitute for being there. The more amazing technology and
collaboration-at-a-distance becomes (what the Web, ultimately, is all
about), the more important face to face personal meetings are. The more
people you know "virtually," the more you want to meet them in person."

Oct./Nov. 2008 | Woman In the Lead

May 30, 1998. | The Economist. Vol. 347, Iss. 8070; pg. 19, 3 pgs | Anonymous.