When you meet a new business prospect or a potential client who shows interest in your business/services, how do you react? Are you able to effectively give that prospect more information without overwhelming him/her with a sales-y lecture? After giving your simple elevator speech, let your website do the talking.

“Make sure your website is attention-getting, informational, and in line with your brand standards,” said Chelsea Janke, Social Media Administrator. “You shouldn’t have to click more than three times from your homepage to find desired information. Use your website as a snapshot or representation of your business and what it has to offer, while making sure that it is also user-friendly for your clients and prospects.”

What’s your elevator speech? No, it’s not actually about elevators. What I’m asking is if you were to sum up what you do or what your business is all about in just one to two sentences (roughly the time you share with another person on an elevator), what is your key message? It might not be easy to summarize, but it’s great to be prepared for those short encounters with other people – who might be prospective clients.

Having trouble formulating your key-message speech? Here’s a tip: don’t try to include every single aspect of what makes your business great – that would be far too in-depth and excessive for an elevator speech. Instead, try to include two or three of your most important goals, maybe part of your mission statement, or just a couple of your strengths that make your business unique and successful. Whatever it is, keep it simple.

If you’re a business owner thinking that you know exactly what your key message is, can you say the same for every member of your team/company? Remember that every employee is a reflection of the company as a whole, and clients often formulate their opinions of a company based on one experience or interaction with an employee of that company. Make sure each member of your team correctly and effectively represents your business and its solidified message.

photo credit: Debs (ò‿ó)♪

I have noticed lately that successful businesses don’t do business with other companies simply because they are the cheapest option, or because they promise to be the fastest – the quality of the work and customer service are what count. I talked to Cindy Leines, Founder and Strategist at C.E.L., about what she has seen as an example of a successful small business that she chooses to work with for those very reasons. She gave me the example of one company’s secret that begins with its founder, Joseph Reilly. Joseph “Joe” Reilly is the President of Payroll Control Systems and the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce 2010 “Entrepreneur of the Year.” So I had to ask, what do Joe and his team have that gives the company success?

Cindy was very confident in the fact that selflessness and generosity are two of Joe’s characteristics that have led to success for Payroll Control Systems, which is a leading provider of payroll, payroll tax, time & labor, and human resources solutions in the Upper Midwest. A business owner herself, Cindy is aware of the challenges that a down economy can bring. But even in hard times, Joe has never made an excuse, nor has he compromised quality of work or customer service.

“Joe is resourceful, and he’s a giver,” Cindy said. “He is always willing to go above and beyond for others, and I will continue to do business with them because of their honesty and their quality of work.”

Joe’s recent award for “Entrepreneur of the Year” proves that there is more than just a handful of people who, along with Cindy, will vouch for Joe’s character and his business. It also proves that selflessness and generosity are two things that no business owner should be without.

So what do you think leads to success for small business?

CEL’s PR Out Loud is about getting useful information out to the public about public relations, media relations, branding, graphic design and everything else that has to do with our industry. It is a go to spot for information, tips and links to helpful sites for all aspects of a small business.

We have multiple people blogging based on their specialities in the industry.

Cindy Leines

A forward thinker and creative leader with the ability to see the big picture and pull all the pieces together. Cindy has over 20 years in this industry and specializes in branding, strategic planning and running a business.

Kari Logan

With over 25 years working in television and securing print, broadcast and electronic media stories for local and national companies her background shows her specialty. She is a great writer, producer, media expert and creative guru.

Stacy Slygh

Over a decade of creative design and event work on a local and national level, and the ability to manage any project, is only the beginning of this fast interpreter’s strengths. She has a eye for design and a flair unlike any other.

Chelsea Janke

In addition to welcoming guests at the front desk and greeting callers on the phone, Chelsea keeps the C.E.L. office and staff organized while managing clients. Her computer proficiency is a great asset to the team and to clients and her ability to multi-task is exceptional! Chelsea is resourceful and has an innate problem solving ability, so she keeps daily operations and projects running smoothly. She provides graphic design support services under the guidance of colleague Stacy Slygh and manages the Social Media Incubator™.

Carol Scheer

Out of our satellite office in St. Louis, Carol has more than 20 years in the newsroom from copy writing to executive news producer in major markets across the country. Her innate ability to uncover and tell the whole story in a compelling fashion is her forte.

The Minnesota Monthly Food & Wine Experience provides an opportunity to sample wines from around the country and parts of the world. It’s a reasonable way to try before you buy, so you don’t waste money on wines that don’t strike your fancy. There are also a lot of Twin Cities restaurants there, sampling their signature dishes, cheese makers sampling their cheese along with a plethora of other tasty new food items to nibble on.

This year, eight local chefs will compete for a cash prize in The Local Chef Challenge. They’ll have one hour to create something scrumptious from a pantry filled with food items, spices and other ingredients. If you like watching the food network, you’ll want to be there for the final round this Sunday.

It’s this weekend, Friday, February 28th and March 1st at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Saturday is already sold out.

When the economy is bad and money is tight, the natural tendency is for businesses to pull back where they “think they can.” Believe me, I’ve done it myself. Marketing tends to be conceived as one of those areas, but the reality is that now more than ever, you need to keep your business front-of-mind with current and potential customers.

Your competition may thin out under the stress of the market downturn and their customers will need to seek out an alternative. Plus, when cash is at a minimum, customers will buy based on trust and dependability, so now is the time to keep in touch…..keep marketing.

Today we pause to acknowledge the history making event of the decade and perhaps of the century – the swearing in of Barack Obama as President of the United States.  Whatever your political persuasion,  I would hope that we can agree that this is a historical and momentous occasion in our country.  There have been other moments in my lifetime that I still remember where I was at the moment of history making events  – on the streets of Seattle as the first ever female vice presidential candidate gave her speech;  having breakfast with my son and being in shock as the Twin Towers were first hit by the airplanes in front of millions of people on site and watching on tv; sitting with my best friend in her living room with our parents playing cards while the “long haired” Beatles performed for the first time on tv; and a vague recollection as a very young child of the funeral and the overwhelming sadness as we watched the funeral procession for President John F. Kennedy after his  assassination.

Today, take note of where you are during this historical moment.  Then, let’s each decide what role we can each play to help improve our economy and communities as we’re being asked to do from our new President.  Politics aside, we must each decide what “I” can do to change the state of affairs in our country.

Our society is changing dramatically. So is the way people operate. More and more people have added the not-so-stylish “I can do everything myself” hat to their everyday attire.  But there are some things that should be left to professional expertise, and logo design is one of them. The perception of logo design has become underestimated and undervalued. I’m sharing an article that explains “Why logo design does not cost $5.00”.  Take a second and ask yourself this…Would you pay $5 for any other professional service…like your own?

The consumer’s escalating attraction to social media sites, blogging and on-line chatting has some business owners in a quandary. In a place where good and bad company reviews are shared on everything from cost to quality of service, it’s hard to know when to defend and when to let words roll off your back. There is always going to be an unhappy customer in the fold, but it used to be that you could smooth things over in private. Now, the oh-so-public posting of slams against businesses is creating a growing concern within even the best-run and most upstanding companies. They say that the negative comments are unfair and untrue.

For a lot of years, I took my mother’s advice and encouraged people to ignore it because after all, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” But, after deflecting the flurry of fears of many, I’ve decided that it’s best to defend and take proactive offensive tactics. Sorry Mom.

One bad apple can pose a threat to spoiling the whole bunch, so weed it out and retaliate.

I’m guessing that for every bone one customer has to pick, a company has ten others who would toss that bone and take a stand to defend, so rally the troops. If you believe in your service and your business practices are ethical, combat the bad with the good. You’ll feel better and your efforts will pay off. How? As the rebuttals and positive comments roll-in, they’ll rise to the top of the search engines and bump the bad boys to the bottom.

August 1, 2007, tragedy struck the Twin Cities.  It’s a day most of us won’t ever forget.  The well-traveled 35W bridge collapsed during rush hour injuring approximately 150 people and killing 13 people.  Thirteen months later the bridge has been rebuilt…much faster than many predicted.  Memorials have been created for those who died or were injured. As we look back on all that has happened, we do know the lives of families and friends who lost loved ones will never be the same.

The annual Uptown Art Fair was preparing to open at the time of the bridge collapse.  Taking into account this horrific incident and wanting to help in some way, the Uptown Association contacted the Salvation Army who brought their red kettles to help raise funds for the aftermath. Uptown Art Fair director Maude Lovelle, committee members, and artists wanted to provide some means of help at the event that typically draws over 300,000 people throughout the weekend.   To further help the cause and pay tribute to those who died in the collapse, a local artist Marni Tobin was selected to honor the victims with a commemorative painting titled “13 Flowers” representing the individuals whose lives were lost.   The original print is traveling around the Twin Cities yet today.  All proceeds from the sales of the prints and the auction of the original artwork is being donated to the  35W Bridge Victim’s Fund.

During difficult times of turmoil and duress, our communities have pulled together to help.  Though many say that this accident could have been prevented, we may never know that for sure.  However, as we begin our drive across the new 35W bridge, may we continue to honor and remember those who died and those who were injured.  May their families know we are thinking of them. Let none of us forget the lessons learned.