“Improve sales win-rates through better deal management and paying attention to those that you know.”
~ Miller Heiman

There are only 9 more Selling Days remaining in September and in the Quarter!!!

It is in a salesperson’s nature to get excited about closing new business. Winning a new client is a reason to celebrate. But, when looking for revenue opportunities, sticking close to home can have its advantages. Your current accounts would be a good place to start. You know their business issues, you know why they decided to do business with you in the first place, and you have established relationships. When new leads – and resources – are scarce, the ability to drive new revenue from existing clients can be a great way to help ensure success. Are you confident that you’ve already uncovered the full potential from your existing client base? There are likely current needs your client has that you could be pursuing. You should approach helping an existing client with the same enthusiasm as you approach new clients.

Maintaining strong relationships with current accounts provides two key benefits:

• You retain the existing business
• You uncover new opportunities

This is not accomplished through just periodic check-ins or great customer service after the sale; it requires an ongoing commitment from you, me all of us and as my Pappy use to say, “don’t you forget it.” As opportunities become scarce, competition increases, so are you doing enough to protect that account? In this marketplace you can’t differentiate by product offering, you must differentiate yourself by the way you sell and the unique value you can provide. A salesperson who can understand a client’s business issues and help craft solutions that help the client succeed are valued and rewarded. Differentiate yourself through your ability to be a well-informed, trusted business resource. When you help your clients achieve their objective you both will win and I will never forget that.

 Go out and have a Great Selling Day and make a difference in at least one person’s life today.

“Relationships drive your business just in case you had forgotten.”
~ Patricia Fripp

There are 18 more Selling Days in August and 39 remaining in the Quarter!!!

You don’t close a sale. You open a relationship.

And remember, the real sale comes AFTER the sale! Technology does not run an enterprise. Relationships do. Staying in touch is a very important part and just as important as getting in touch with customers in the first place.

Years ago, the first president of the National Speakers Association, Bill Gove, was sales manager of the 3M Company. He wrote his customers thank-you notes a trait I still do to this very day. One day a friend was teasing him: “Hey, Bill, all you do is write notes all day long.” He said , “No, seven minutes a day, and everyone who does business with me hears from me at least once every three months while my competition is calling on them, asking for their business.”

Now that we have technology it’s must easier to maximize your client relationships. Keep in touch and as I said just recently make that touch call.

Go out and have a Great Selling Day and make a difference in at least one person’s life today.

You have convinced yourself about the importance of hiring the services of a professional document shredding company. This is an important decision but do you know what to look for, to get the best deal? Here are 10 pointers that many experts, that I have talked to over the years – but especially those at The File Room, to guide you in the right direction:

1. How often do you need the services of the document shredding company? While some need it once in a few weeks, some are happy with one service once in a few months. However you need to check whether they have call in service when you need them.
2. There is always a possibility that the need for document shredding comes up unexpectedly, as a huge volume of paper has been generated which need to be destroyed. Would the company be available for such call in service? If yes, how time prior notice do they need?
3. Would the company provide you with free containers, placed strategically, for ease of use? If needed, can they provide extra containers without charging anything extra? Check for the quality of such containers and whether they are lockable or not.
4. Check whether the shredding services follow the strict security standards as instituted by the National Association of Information Destruction (NAID). This is the highest authority in the shredding industry. You must know whether the shredding company is NAID-certified.
5. The company should provide you with a Certificate of Destruction which is an important legal document, immediately after they have undertaken a shredding assignment. This document should be duly signed by the Company representative, dated, stamped and the method of destruction should be mentioned with a reference number. Some shredding companies provide this certificate every time while some may give this along with their monthly invoice.
6. Ensure whether the actual shredding operation is done in the company of one of your representatives. This needs a viewing monitor which allows you to watch the shredding.
7. Are you obliged to sign a long-term contract with the shredding company? There are several companies which do not require any signing of any contract.
8. What about their payment terms? Do they want you to pay upfront before any services are rendered?
9. Check what kind of materials they destroy. For example CDs. DVDs, X-ray plates, etc may need to be destroyed – would they do these jobs too?
10. Finally check whether the shredding services is bonded and insured. This is because you would need insurance, especially if you are a large company.

Many years of experience tells me that there are many other questions out there to ask but this will give you a good start. A start that will lead you to the right company to assist you in your document destruction and certification. In today’s world, we all must be vigilant about privacy and protecting information that we are charged to protect which is why you go with the company that you can trust.

Many organizations assume they will never experience a disaster, so they never develop a strategy for preventing or responding to one. Even if they do have a formal disaster response plan, chances are it does not address the need to protect one of their most valuable assets: their records. A strong disaster management plan will help you avoid or manage events that can threaten, damage, or destroy your records. There are many articles and companies such as The File Room that provides guidance on developing a strategy for managing a records disaster and describes how to integrate that strategy into a larger, organization-wide disaster management plan and your ongoing records management program.

Records consist of information recorded on paper, film, electronic, and other media that an organization creates and receives in the regular course of its official business. A records disaster is a sudden, unexpected event that significantly damages or destroys records or prevents access to the information they contain. A records disaster can deprive you of the information you need to resume normal operations. In private industry, a loss of information can cause businesses to fail. In any organization, it can lead to staff frustration and decreased productivity, impair services to citizens, deprive you of evidence needed in court, and make it impossible to document your revenue and assets. By extension, it can cause your employees to lose confidence in your ability to do your job and protect their interests which equates to their jobs. In many ways, a records disaster can ultimately lead to a public relations nightmare, loss of income and jobs.

Managing records disasters effectively can

• guarantee a secure environment for ongoing records storage and maintenance
• ensure the physical safety of employees who regularly retrieve, use, and manage your organization’s records
• identify and protect records vital to your operations
• identify and protect your archival records
• provide a framework for responding safely and efficiently to disasters when they do occur
• allow you to resume your work as soon as possible after a disaster

To manage records disasters, you must first develop a formal, written plan that specifically addresses those events that could potentially damage or destroy your records. A good disaster management plan will include strategies for

• preventing potential disasters by identifying your most valuable records and risks to those records
• responding directly to disasters if they do occur
• continuing normal business operations after an emergency has passed
• periodically reviewing and adapting your plan to reflect current conditions
• storing documents off site at a reputable record management company – no mini storages

Each of these four activities I will discuss in detail over time to ensure that our readers can obtain good information and build their plan in the event of a disaster for remember it is not if but when.

There are several online sources that contain information on both disaster management planning and recovery. Most State Archives are also available as a resource for providing direct technical assistance and advice on how to prepare a disaster management plan. Funding for disaster recovery planning, including money to hire a consultant and purchase planning software, are in most cases available to local governments through the Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund (LGRMIF), as are grants to support many of the facility enhancements necessary to protect your records. Local governments can also apply for emergency funding to pay for disaster recovery efforts related to records. For further information about any of these services and grants, contact your State Archives’ regional advisory officer (RAO), Government Records Services or The File Room in Saint Louis, MO for instructions and assistance.