Share what you save

Bob Bobber writes that sharing cost savings is a win-win.
The company wins and the employees win.
Reward those who pick up the slack with additional duties.
It can be as simple as $10 a week raise or a small bonus.
More work should carry a reward, no matter how small.
We must be careful in tough times to preserve morale.
Tough times don’t last forever. The rebound will come.
Those who feel abused will find better jobs.
They might go to work for your competition.
We don’t want to lose good people when the economy turns.
Make layoffs part of a cost-saving plan everyone understands.
We have two objectives. We pick up the slack because:
1. It will ensure our company survives and our jobs with it.
2. We make our goals and share in 25% of the savings.
People motivate themselves to cut off lights in empty rooms.
They find numbers on the Internet, not bycalling Information.
They turn thermostats up or down, depending on the season.
They cluster calls and make maximum use of their time.
This saves gas, wear and tear on vehicles -- and time.
Saving pays off. Share what you save with those who did it.
To leave a morale building idea, please click on comment below.
For other cost saving ideas, please click here.

7 strategies to build profit

Tuesday we talked about 7 ways to cut costs.
That’s important but not the only path to profit.
Do you know anyone who cut their way to profitability?
Me either. We have to build revenue at the same time.
Here are 7 ways we identified at the NNA convention.
1. Increase revenue with "football season only" subscriptions.
2. Allow subscribers to renew at today’s rate before a price hike.
3. Promote local coverage to increase subscription sales.
4. Give graduates online subscriptions sponsored by local banks.
5. Give free online military subscriptions with family discounts.
6. Discount subscriptions to teachers and school staff.
7. Called lapsed subscribers to encourage them to renew.
For the other six revenue builders please email me.
To leave a tip of your own, please click on comment below
For more on building revenue and profit, click here.

Cut costs but not your throat

In this economy, every dime we save goes to the bottom line.
Whether it’s personal or business, cutting costs pays.
We identified 13 ways to cut costs at the NNA convention.
Here are seven of them.
1. Eliminate all slackers. They drag us down.
We put up with them when the economy was strong.
We can’t now. Bite the bullet. Get rid of them.
2. Share their work. We still have to get the work done.
Divide the slackers’ work among the remaining staff.
3. Challenge all costs. Where can we get better deals?
What can we live without? What can we reduce?
4. Set cost goals. Offer 25% of savings to your staff.
That’s a powerful incentive for everyone to watch costs.
5. Negotiate health insurance rates.
In this economy, even insurers are cutting deals.
Get comparative rates and benefits then decide.
6. Look for a buying co-op. Every industry has one.
Check with your industry’s professional association.
7. Partner with a non-profit. Their volunteers can help.
Not high skill jobs but they take pressure off the rest of you.
Offer the non-profit 50% of what their volunteers save you.
For the other six cost saving tips, please email me.
To leave a tip of your own, please click on comment below
Thursday we’ll discuss building revenues and profit.
For more on cutting costs but not your throat, click here.
For my Business Tip of the Week video, please click here.

7 tips to manage time

Time is one of our most precious assets.
None of us gets any more of it than anyone else.
Yet some of us use it far more productively.
I employ 27 steps to wring the most from my 24/7.
Here are seven of them you can put to good use today.
1. Get organized. Quit wasting time looking for things.
2. Buy and use an appointment book.
3. Choose one with a calendar for each month.
This lets you see your schedule 4.3 weeks at a time.
4. Schedule appointments and projects in your book.
5. Prioritize all projects. Swallow the big frogs first.
These frogs are your high-payoff projects.
6. Plan tomorrow at the end of today.
7. Organize your "in" box before you go home.
For the other 20, email me at jerry@jerrybellune.com
Please put "Time" in the subject line.
That way I won’t think your message is spam.
Next week we’ll discuss costs and profits.
To leave a comment, please click on comment below.
To get more out of life, please click here.

9 steps to effective achievement

Highly motivated people keep lists of written goals.
An unwritten goal is still little more than a dream.
Here are the nine I use to set and achieve my goals.
They work every time, time after time, without fail.
1. Think what you want to achieve. Only you can do it.
2. Write in the first person, present tense.
"I feel great about meeting five sales prospects today.
"Their names and contact information . . ."
3. Make them brief. See 14-word goal above.
4. Make them specific. "Five sales prospects."
5. Use feeling words. "I feel great . . ."
6. Stay focused. Block out distractions and time bandits.
You know who the time bandits are. More on that later.
7. Set realistic deadlines on every project.
8. Hold yourself accountable to make those deadlines.
9. Reward yourself for achieving each goal.
Yes, reward yourself. It increases your motivation.
We’ll talk about time and productivity Thursday.
To leave a comment, please click on ‘comment’ below.
For more on self motivation, please click here.