As a business coach I specialize in asking questions.

The right question asked at the right time can effect your business future more than you can imagine. It has the power to completely and instantly shift your mental activity, your entire thought pattern, and ultimately the actions you take. Over the last fourteen years I’ve asked hundreds of small, medium and very large business owners endless questions which have helped them achieve far greater levels of success than they would have had thinking the way they were — only moments before.

While the following may not be the only ten questions — or even THE ten questions, they are ten questions that you must answer if you want your business to flourish. The right answers are critical to your company’s future.

1. How many un- or underserved prospective clients are in your target market?

The number of prospective clients – prospects — available to you relates to two key considerations: the total revenue possible from this client base, and what kinds of marketing tactics will be most cost-effective. If yours is a ‘mass market,’ advertising will almost certainly be part of the your marketing mix. By contrast, if your market is very small (I once sold software to the top-50 international banks) you can contact each and every prospect individually.

2. How large do you envision your business?

Does your vision include being a Fortune 500 company? If so, check question 1 above, and make sure you’ve got a whopping market. On the other hand, many of my clients would be completely satisfied generating $5MM with a staff of 50; pocketing $1mm per year and selling the company for $10mm when they are ready. How you answer this question governs the kind of markets you can enter, whether you are vertical or horizontal in nature, mass market or niched, as well as the kind of management structure your organization requires.

3. What important changes are occurring (or have recently occurred) in your market and what is their impact on your business?

The answers to this question may govern changes to your product, your product mix and your marketing campaign. Big changes generally signal big opportunities; however if you aren’t prepared for them, they can also signal the demise of your business. Dramatic increases in new housing created significant opportunities for a client who sold estimating software and brought a field-ready, cost-saving product to market just in time.

4. Who is your competition and why are you clearly a better choice for your prospects?

It may shock you (on the other hand, it may not) how many CEOs cannot provide a compelling answer to this question. Recently, I was at a meeting for Microsoft Business Solutions Partners, and spoke to a number of the VARs who came to improve their marketing programs. When I asked about their competitive advantage, three separate resellers answered telling me how long they had been in business, and how well they understood their customers. Yeah? Well, so what. If you don’t want to get blindsided by your competitors, you need to understand their capabilities. And if you want to outflank them in turn, you’d better have ammunition more powerful than your length of service.

5. How important is “service” to your clients, and how do you plan to deliver it?

Some markets require high service, some do not. What about yours? If you are playing in a market where customers expect to get their hands held, you need to be geared up for it. A software company client of mine implemented a large and effective sales push, only to have their Help Desk swamped with new customer service requests. Ultimately we fixed this with a set of new support policies, a knowledge base, an active user forum, plus effective staff training — but it almost sank the company.

6. Is your business model scalable? In other words, could you grow your business by 50%, without your expenses growing by the same ratio?

If not, you can never be any more profitable — in percentage terms – than you currently are. You may sell more, and earn more in absolute terms, but for each dollar you sell, you will make the same, and probably less, money. This means a potential acquirer will not pay a financial premium for your business, because adding money to your business won’t make it more profitable.

7. What are they 3-5 critical factors for your business’ success and how would you rate your company in each factor?

Where do the profits in your business come from? What are the areas where you beat the pants off your competitors? Why do clients seek you out? These are the critical areas of success — and you’d better be damned good at them. Rate yourself on each, and create an improvement program wherever you are lower than an 8. I’ve done this exercise with many of my business coaching clients, and it has probably created more value than any other.

8. What portion of your business operations have documented, repeatable, scalable systems? Are there systems which cover the critical success areas?

This is the solution to the problem raised in question 6. It is also your ticket to a well-earned vacation. Ask yourself, if you left for four weeks without voice mail or e-mail, would your business be better than you found it, about the same, or a smoldering ruin? You may think that not all areas of a software company lend themselves to systemization, but all the important ones do. Sales? Marketing? Product development? Customer service? Consulting? All systemizable.

9. How good are your finances?

Your financial picture and your market share, analyzed in the context of a growing or shrinking market determines the future of your company. If you’ve got lots of surplus cash you can weather anything. You can create completely new products if you have to. Next best thing is strong cash flow out of which you can pay for development, buy a competitor, or expand revenues with new technology. (One of my clients recently reinvigorated their business by buying a non- competitive player selling products to their legal clients.) But if your bank account is poor and your cash-flow weak, you are in a tough place — particularly if your market is shrinking. My Grand Strategy Model would tell you to sell your company for whatever you can get, and invest the proceeds in a healthier market sector.

10. Is your market growing or shrinking, and what is your current market share?

This is the other key to the Grand Strategy. If you dominate your market is there enough room to grow? And if not, who can you steal business from? If your market is expanding there may be years of growth left, but if it is stable or shrinking, the forecast may not be so good. This is where cash balances and cash flow come in. With them you can develop new products and services to expand the size of purchase transactions or increase the frequency of repurchase. If there is just no room for increase, think about how you can tweak your product to redeploy it in an adjacent market space. At a time when a client’s customer’s just wasn’t buying their old products, (and recently, whose customer’s were?) we shifted much of their resources into providing interim services, and thereby saved the company until the new products came out.

If you are concerned about questions 5, 6, 7, and 8 above, I have developed a new, comprehensive and first-of-its-kind program to help: The Turnkey Your Business Home Study and Mentoring Program. (http://www.turnkeycoach.com) This is a twelve month hands-on course, containing step-by-step how-to manuals, audio CDs, CD-ROMs, monthly conference calls and personal mentoring and is the only program of its kind in the world, designed to help entrepreneurs and executives create detailed, documented systems and processes to “turnkey” their businesses.

This is the one guaranteed way for you to create duplicable business processes for those things that matter most, and then optimize those same things getting the greatest return on your efforts and your time.

You can find out more about the Turnkey Your Business Home Study Program by linking to http://www.turnkeycoach.com. And we’ve just added a monthly payment program, as well.

Best regards,

Paul Lemberg

When it comes time for you to acquire a home mortgage for your first home or for a second home, or perhaps you are just looking to refinance. Whatever the case may be, it is important to shop around for a home mortgage.

When it comes to a home mortgage, mortgage companies are very competitive, they want and compete for your business, so let them.

There are many places these days to track down a home mortgage, the easiest being the internet.

If you are a person with a good salary and excellent credit looking for a standard home mortgage, you shouldn???t have much trouble tracking one down. It would be as easy as walking into your local bank branch and asking the branch manager to set up an appointment with someone in their mortgage department.

On the other hand, if you are a person whose credit is a little bit challenged, tracking down a home mortgage may prove to be a little bit more challenging.

This is where the internet comes into play. There is a wealth of information to be found and people to help you achieve your dream of obtaining a home mortgage.

The people that are capable of helping you if your credit is damaged or challenged are called mortgage brokers.

Mortgage brokers are not actual lenders. Their job is to shop around for a mortgage for you.

Mortgage brokers easily have access to hundreds of wholesale lenders who lend to people with credit issues and unique situations. So, if your situation is unique, or you have credit issues, a broker may be ideal for you.

If your situation is unique, or your credit is challenged, it is still important to shop around for a home mortgage. By shopping around you will be doing yourself a huge favor, and you could possibly save yourself a bundle of money in closing costs and interest fees???.

Allow for up to four brokers or loan officers to assess your situation, than wait for them to come back at you with an offer. The one that offers you the best deal within reason, should be the one you give most of your consideration to. Good luck.

If you are looking to purchase a home or refinance the one you are currently living in, but believe this may not be a possibility for you because you have bad credit, think again.

Just because you have bad credit does not mean you will not be able to receive a mortgage. In fact there are many lenders out there across the United States that are know as wholesale lenders that specialize in lending money to people with bad credit.

The names of these wholesale lenders may not ring familiar to you because they are not the typical lending institutions you see on the street corners of your town, otherwise know as banks.

The first thing you will need to do is locate a few of these wholesale lenders and shop around for a deal you believe to be fair. If you do not have success finding these lenders on your own, you may want to consider using a broker and have them shop around for you.

A broker is not a lender. What they do is assess your situation, than shop around for a lender that deals with bad credit mortgages.

Brokers have access to hundreds of lenders across the country and they can usually find one that has a program that may fit your needs.

Using a broker may not be such a bad idea, they are usually very experienced in their field and will not only find a bad credit mortgage lender for you, they will also council and educate you along the way.

Keep in mind, just because your credit may be less than perfect, does not mean that you are at the mercy of the mortgage companies, you are not.

Mortgage companies are very competitive, especially among the wholesale lenders, so be sure to shop around. Don???t limit yourself to contacting only one broker, say no more than four. Allow for each to assess your situation, than base your consideration of which one you will use on the rate and program that they offer you. Good luck.

Starting up a business can seem like a daunting task. There’s so much to think about, not least how you’re going to finance your operation and generate revenue in the shortest amount of time possible.

Of course, there are many resources available, both in the online world and offline world, to help you succeed. Some are free, others are not. Out of the free resources that are at the disposal of business start-ups one of the most potent – yet frequently overlooked – are joint ventures.

Joint Ventures

Joint ventures are the key to business success. You can start with nothing and create a multi-million dollar business solely through the creation of business collaborations from which you can profit. All it takes is a little determination and the right approach???but what is the right approach?

The answer to that is simple: Look for companies that have a natural powerful synergy with yours!

Say you are starting up an online travel agency. You have the web site and you have the vacation deals, but how are you going to reach your target customers? The key is to look for other businesses in the travel industry whose customers could benefit from your product. By doing so you’ll gain instant access to primed customers for no money down!

Airlines for instance will have a database of clients who travel. In exchange for offering say a discounted vacation package to airline customers, where the airline shares in the profits made from a sale of a vacation package to their customers, you could gain a customer database of several thousand people overnight! Similar joint ventures could be forged with car hire firms, hotels and even other travel web sites. The possibilities are endless!

Finding joint venture partners

Joint venture partners are easily found by registering your company details with a joint venture matching service like www.jvbase.com . These types of companies specialize in finding joint venture partners who have that natural powerful synergy. Of course, your business is not legally bound in any way to the companies that the matching service present to you. It just makes the search process for joint venture partners that little bit easier!

Instant Unsecured
Cash Loans – Tips
Unsecured cash loans are taken when the borrower does not have a property to secure the debt. These loans usually have higher interest rates and are considered high-risk loans by lenders. Today with various funding organizations, banks and financial institutions entering a competitive business scenario, obtaining unsecured cash loans has become an easy and quick process.
Here are a few tips to help you obtain a quick unsecured cash loan:
Purpose of loan
You may opt for these loans for any purpose like paying off existing debt, purchases like a new car, weddings, holiday expenses etc. The amount you plan to borrow is also an important factor and so is the time in which you plan to return the amount. This would help determine the interest rates.
Searching for a loan
The next step involves searching various organizations that offer such loans. Searching on the Internet may be a good option because here the process is much faster. Some lenders will revert to you the very same day and you will know whether your application has been approved or not. Other lenders may even promise to make an instant decision in a matter of seconds.
Applying for a loan
You may need to fill an online enquiry form, specifying details like the purpose of the loan, amount required, credit history and other details. Applying for this loan is very simple. Also as you are not securing the loan against an asset, you need not fill out long complicated forms. Once your application has been approved, money is usually transferred to your account quickly and efficiently, often in a matter of 24 hours.
Issues to keep in mind
Today there are various banks and financial institutions that offer unsecured cash loans. But while opting for a fast unsecured cash loan keep in mind not to compromise on repayment terms, penalties and interest rates. Also find out whether the interest is charged daily and if capital repayments will bring down the amount of interest and period of loan. If you feel that you may face any financial difficulty and may not be able to repay the loan on time contact your lender immediately. This will protect you from court proceedings and the lender may even agree to freeze your payments for some time.
We at www.anycredithistory.com are here just to help you with an unsecured cash loan whatever your credit record is. Our processing is quick and simple and the money is transferred to your account in the shortest possible time.

About the author:
Steve is a well known and renowned author. In past he had produced books , articles which are rich in issues which are popular among Loans . He had written many books, articles related to finance, popular issues which are much appreciated by people around the country.

The importance of keeping up with changes in business computing and technology can be more important over time as your business grows. As and an IT professional far too often I have seen many small businesses get way too far behind in computing technology and wonder why they should pay for the upgrades. Usually I have to explain to them the hard way that the current computers system that are over 4 years old are not going to perform the requested task very well and are not supported by software. Usually do to combination of software changes and incompatibility with older software and hardware platforms that cause issues. I explain that it actually will cost them more money in the long run to try and maintain there existing computer equipment then buy a new replacement.

Most small businesses fail to recognize that keep computer equipment very long periods actually can cost them more money to maintain those systems then the price of a replacement. One cost is the amount if money you pay out for replacement parts when there is no warranty on the old device. If the computer, server or printer is made by a specific manufacture then there is a good chance that you will have to go back to them for certain parts which can be very costly. Another problem is that they actually don???t make replacement parts for broke unit, this is a worse case issue I have seen although sometimes you might find a vendor that makes similar parts and hopefully it fits properly and works properly but not always.

Another disadvantage is if your business is operating on older slower computer equipment that takes a long process customer request and this might open the door for your competition to take your clients away from you but offering better service. If your competition is reinvesting in there business computing and technology changes then most likely they will have the ability to complete products and request faster and at a cheaper rate. The advance technology will cost you money upfront but if the proper equipment is purchased and utilized in office it can add to your over all business.

Some of benefits can include lower power requirements for the devices, more storage capacity for computer files, improved CPU along with memory speeding up processes run on the computer, faster and higher quality documents from new printers. Less down time and less delays in completion of customer request. These are just a few of the benefits of keeping up with technology in your business.

I know that some of you are say that this is easier said then done and in some cases that is very true depending on your current business. But as a small business or home office you should plan for these events after all that is what large companies do and you should follow the same lead. Your business should have at least a basic IT business computing plan that has budget plan and cycling out of computer and office equipment. By having budget and plan in place it should not impact your business finance as much since you set planed ahead. The IT business computer plan should have some flexibility after all you don???t want to do a complete equipment change in the middle of a big job or shutdown your business at the wrong time. And if your business in booming and you don???t have them time then hiring a temp IT professional to help with computing change which might not be a bad idea.

Investing in the proper technology is the key to success it does not matter if you have established small business, home office or if you???re a new startup business. Remember that your business most likely will change over time along with the clients you are serving so your computing equipment should also.

In conclusion business computing when done right can truly add to your business by adding to productivity and efficiency of the day to day operations and can help you take on more clients and over all help you build your business.

Hopefully this article has been informative and helpful to you. If you???re looking for more Business computing information and solutions then be sure to check our website listed below.

Accounts receivable financing, also known as factoring, is a powerful financial tool that has fueled the growth and success of a number of companies.

Factoring enables companies to capitalize on their unpaid receivables by selling them to a factoring company for immediate payment. With factoring, companies

immediately get paid for their invoiced work from the factoring finance company, while the factoring company waits to be paid by the customers. Factoring

strengthens a business’ cash position by shortening the time to get invoices paid to 48 hours and providing the needed funds to meet current expenses and

target new opportunities.

Factoring Benefits

As opposed to loans and lines of credit that require that the client have tangible assets and strong financials, factoring relies more heavily on the

financial strength of the clients’ customer. This is a critical feature,since many new and small businesses do not meet the financial criteria of traditional

lending institutions. However, many small businesses have a roster of financially strong customers that can be leveraged. Factoring empowers businesses to

capitalize on their customer list, and provides them with a tool to transform outstanding receivables into immediate cash, without generating debt. Since

Factoring is not a loan, it is an ideal financial product for the following:

o New and emerging businesses including small and home businesses, consultants and solo-preneurs.
o Businesses with financially strong customers
o Businesses that are preparing to grow significantly
o Business with intangible assets (e.g. consultants)
o Businesses that do not want to take a loan

An additional benefit of factoring is that the factor usually assumes part of the clients’ credit risk for the customer. This means that if the customer

becomes financially insolvent due to bankruptcy and does not pay the invoice, the factor will assume the loss. This is a critical service for small companies

who may not be able to afford the bankruptcy of a customer.

Costs

The costs of a factoring transaction – also known as the discount – vary based on a number of variables such as the financial strength of the customer and

the amount being factored. Generally, the discount is a percentage of the invoice’s face value that increases with time until the invoice gets paid. Small

businesses, those that have between $20,000 and $300,000 in yearly revenues, can expect to pay a discount rate of about 2% for every ten (10) days that the

invoice remains unpaid. Businesses with factorable revenues in excess of $300,000 can expect lower discount rates.

Factoring at Work: Business Services and Products, Inc. Case Study

Business Services and Products, Inc. (BSP, Inc.) is a small fictional company, which provides business consulting and equipment to local companies. It has

$300,000 of annual revenues and during the past year BSP Inc. has enjoyed significant sales growth. Although most business owners would be very happy to

manage such a company, Jane Sullivan, BSP Inc’s president, is very worried about her company’s financial position.

Most of BSP Inc.’s customers are large companies with a good reputation for always paying their invoices. However they always take between 30 to 45 days to

pay them. BSP Inc., however, needs to pay their employees every two weeks and their vendors every four weeks. This discrepancy between the time that

customers pay their bills and the time BSP Inc. needs to pay their employees and vendors has created cash flow problems in the past. Furthermore, these cash

flow problems have already caused Jane to delay payroll twice this year and have placed her trade (vendor) credit in jeopardy multiple times. This has also

caused her to pass on a number of significant business opportunities because she was unsure of the company’s financial ability to hire and pay for additional

staffers. Unfortunately, BSP Inc. did not have a large enough financial cushion in the bank to afford paying employees while waiting for 45 days new clients

to pay their invoices.

The following table provides an overview of BSP, Inc’s current financial position.

Business Services and Products, Inc (without financing)

Yearly sales: $300,000
Lost new sales opportunities: Unknown
Total Sales: $300,000

Variable Costs (60% of Sales): $180,000
Fixed Costs (Rent, phones, etc): $20,000
Total Costs: $200,000

Profit (Sales – Costs): $100,000

Although the company’s prospects appear great, Jane may have to stall her company’s growth until she builds a large enough cash cushion at the bank to

finance her company’s growth. After careful consideration, Jane decided that a factoring line of working capital could help strengthen her company’s

financial position. Furthermore, factoring her invoices would enable BSP Inc. to take on new customers and continue growing, knowing that she could

capitalize on her slow paying customers. BSP Inc.’s financing agreement will provide the company with an advance of 70% of her invoiced services. This means

that the company can get 70% of the face value of the factored invoices within 24 to 48 hours of submitting them to the factor. The remaining 30% of the

funds, less the factoring fees, will be quickly rebated as soon as the customer pays their invoice.This line of working capital strengthened the company’s

financial position and bank account, enabling Jane to pay for new employees to service new contracts. Jane also decided to use the extra capital to pay her

vendors early, obtaining quick payment discounts and helping to reduce the cost of factoring.

BSP Inc. customers pay their invoices within 30 days of receipt. The discount (factoring fee) for these invoices is 6%. Every time an invoice is paid, the

factor rebates BSP Inc. the remaining 30% that was not advanced less the factoring fee. This means that once the transaction is completed, the factor rebates

24% (30% – 6%) to BSP Inc. Thanks to the factoring line of working capital, Jane was also to secure an additional $120,000 worth of business, bringing her

annual revenues to $420,000.

The following table shows BSP Inc.’s financial position a year after using factoring.

Business Services and Products (with factoring)

Existing Sales: $300,000
New Sales: $120,000 (factored)
Total Sales: $420,000

Variable Costs (60% of Sales): $252,000
Fixed Costs (Rent, phones, etc.): $20,000
Cost of Factoring (6% of $120,000): $7,200
Total Costs: $279,200

Net Profit (Sales – Costs): $140,800

As can be seen from the above table, factoring helped BSP Inc. increase profits substantially from $100,000 to $140,800 – a 40% increase. It placed BSP Inc.

on a more stable financial footing, priming it for growth. Furthermore, the cost impact of factoring on the bottom line was minimal, as it was easily

absorbed by the additional business, showing that factoring was paid for directly by the growth.

Six Sigma doesn’t improve the customer experience. It may seem that Six Sigma turns the focus away from the customer because it is driven by data. In so many companies, quality improvement is driven by the latest customer complaint, or some manager’s latest issue. This may seem like you are being responsive to the customers, but such an ad hoc and scatter-shot approach is inefficient and ultimately doomed to failure. The question you need to ask is what data is presented to the organization in order to select improvement projects? Without the right data, how can you succeed? Unless the approach is systematic and the solution driven by measurement and analysis, there is little hope for lasting quality improvement.

Six Sigma is oriented toward the solution of problems at their root cause and the prevention of their recurrence, as opposed to attempting to control potential causes of failure on a project-by-project basis. Six Sigma inspired process redesign will change the way a company thinks about how they do their work and deliver their services. So many companies are focused on short-term financial goals. The ???show me the money?? attitudes of shareholders and the stock market shift focus away from the customer. Six Sigma, on the other hand, is clearly focused on the customer. It accomplishes this because it centers its attention on the end results and long-term cultural change.

Six Sigma is not just about number crunching and finances. All of the numbers are just data used to reach the real goal of Six Sigma: helping increase quality and service for the customer. Companies need to figure out what their customers want and need. One thing any customer of any business in any industry wants is a better experience. Quality and efficiency don’t only help the financial bottom line, they help the customer experience.

Companies need to remember that their first and final allegiance should be to the customer. By embracing Six Sigma, a company can achieve greater quality and efficiency in the flow of information and interaction between people, especially interactions with customers. Transforming the process of these flows will yield quality results for the customer experience.

Six Sigma is just another fad. There have been so many quality improvement fads over the years. It is not surprising that people are now a little jaded. The weakness of many of these fads is that they have the superficial appearance that something profound is happening, yet the substance is not there. A whole bunch of numbers and graphs on spreadsheets are not enough to bring about substantial and lasting quality improvement in an organization. The fads sell themselves as cheap and easy quick fixes. The reality is that there are no quick fixes to significant process improvement. Six Sigma understands that.

Six Sigma is neither a fad nor a quick fix. The data and descriptive statistics that Six Sigma mines out of a project are real data and meaningful data. You use data to create actionable goals, analyze and determine the root cause(s) of defects, and then measure the results to shows how those goals were achieved. The data determines the causes of the problems that need improvement and how to eliminate the gap between existing performance and the desired level of performance. Tools are put in place to ensure that the key variables remain within the acceptable ranges over time so that process improvement gains are maintained. The changes brought about through Six Sigma are real, significant, and long-lasting.

Also, Six Sigma is not a simple 1-2-3-you’re done process. It is a ???way of life.?? It is a multi-level, cyclical movement toward continual process improvement. Six Sigma is a time-consuming and high-energy process. Companies develop a long-term plan that outlines the move from current performance levels to Six Sigma performance levels, with tangible, short-term goals in between.

Successful Six Sigma programs are built on a solid organizational foundation. The organizational structure and system needs to be clearly identified and communicated to the entire organization to successfully implement Six Sigma Quality. Becoming a Six Sigma organization doesn’t just happen. Planning and training goes into setting up a successful Six Sigma organization. Employee roles and responsibilities must be established and clearly communicated to all.

The more Six Sigma projects your company completes, the more involved you become with more mature and meaningful projects than when you began. Six Sigma becomes part of the core of your business. It isn’t a quick knock-off program; it keeps growing and changing as your business needs grow and evolve. The other fads didn’t last at your organization, but Six Sigma will.

About the author:
Peter Peterka is President of Six Sigma us. For additional information on Six Sigma DMAIC or other Six Sigma Green Belt Training project programs contact Peter Peterka.

Revenue is down. Sales are slowing. The CEO looks up from the business plan and realizes that the company won???t meet analysts??? expectations. Focusing on the organization???s sales leader, the stage is set for sacrificing a scapegoat.

Upon who else should the axe fall when the sales organization misses revenue targets? After all, aren???t sales and revenue the responsibility of the sales leader? The answer may be as easily forgotten as it is obvious.

To one degree or another everyone in an organization impacts the revenue generating process. The strategic plan of the board of directors and the CEO provides the overall strategy for revenue generation. The marketing department provides crucial demographic and psychographic customer or client information on which the sales department relies in formulating industry and account strategies. Manufacturing, finance, legal, customer service and all other departments facilitate or constrain the process of generating revenue, each in their own peculiar way.

The sales organization???s influence in enterprise revenue generation is con-centrated in the sales pipeline. Identifying bona fide sales opportunities, managing those opportunities through the sales pipeline until they produce revenue, and then managing customer or client relationships are the primary responsibilities of the sales and sales management teams. Rarely, if ever, does the sales organization control the resources of manufacturing, marketing, finance, legal and customer service.

The picture most companies present to the world show the sales organization ???out there,?? in front of customers and clients and in front of the rest of the company???s departments. Even marketing, the first cousin of sales, is more often than not as disconnected from sales as are the other departments. The sales group leads the company charge, and the other departments take up rear support positions, providing tangible and intangible support.

Revenue generation is a cross functional, company-wide process that involves every department and all employees in the organization. The CEO and the Board of Directors set corporate strategy and everyone else in the organization executes that strategy. We have never observed a situation where the sales organization is in disarray while all the other business segments are humming along with little or no friction. In those rare cases where the failure or underperformance of an enterprise???s revenue generation process lies within the sales organization, the appropriate sales executives, managers and sales professionals should be held accountable and should suffer the requisite consequences. Before CEO???s shoot their sales teams, however, they might want to take a critical look at the entire revenue generation process and how each business segment contributes to or detracts from the success of the process. Like America???s favorite psychologist, Dr. Phil, would advise: Every department in an organization either contributes to the company???s revenue generation process or contaminates it.

Imposing surcharges on credit card transactions is illegal, and it will only lead to problems. The secret to beating the credit card processing system is not charging more for credit card sales, but instead is charging less for cash sales. It may sound like the same thing, but there is a big difference.
The increasing costs associated with accepting credit cards are leaving many merchants searching for ways to pass along at least a portion of processing expenses to their customers. Card originators such as VISA and MasterCard are becoming wary of this new trend and are enforcing strict regulations specifically designed to hinder any such efforts by merchants to impose surcharges on credit card purchases.
Discount fees, transaction costs, and other expenses associated with the acceptance of electronic bank cards (credit and debit cards) are putting a strangle hold on to the NET profits of businesses of all sizes. To help minimize the impact that processing costs are having on profits, many businesses are charging a surcharge to customers that choose to pay for products or services using a credit or debit card.
Card originators such as VISA, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover have a lot to lose if the practice of imposing surcharges on credit card transactions becomes popular among merchants. When merchants impose surcharges on credit transactions, they make purchasing on credit a less appealing option to consumers, and many consumers choose to avoid the additional cost by simply paying with cash or a check. A decrease in the use of credit cards by consumers translates directly into lost revenue for processing banks. Not only do banks lose out on the processing fees that they would have collected from the merchant, but they lose any finance charges that would have been incurred by the customer as well.
You may wonder why so many businesses still choose to place a surcharge on credit transactions, even though it is strictly forbidden in the processing agreement they had to sign when opening their merchant account. Quite frankly, many business people choose to ignore this clause in their processing agreement and impose a surcharge anyway. This approach is not recommended. When and if these businesses are discovered, their merchant accounts will be terminated, and they may even be placed on the Terminated Merchant File (TMF) which will make it nearly impossible for them to acquire another merchant account.
Card originators and banks have control over credit card (bankcard) transactions, and they can legally ban a merchant from imposing surcharges. However, they do not have any legal control over other forms of payment such as cash and checks. The largest card originator (VISA) has even pub-2403258503801684lished information stating that, “You may, however, offer a discount for cash transactions, provided that the offer is clearly disclosed to customers and the cash piece is presented as a discount from the standard price charged for all other forms of payment”.1
Most merchant accounts operate on a tiered discount pricing grid and, ironically, the secret to beating credit card processing fees is to impose tiered pricing on your products and services as well. The old saying, “if you can???t beat em???, join em???” applies perfectly.
While you can???t charge extra for credit card sales, you can charge less for cash as long as all prices are clearly stated to customers, and the cash price is reflected as a discount from the original purchase price. For example: if the price tag on an item states that the item costs $10, the cash price must be represented as a discount from that price. The price tag for this particular item should look something like this:
Price: $10.00
5% discount for cash payment @ $9.50
5% Discount for Check Payment @ $9.50
By utilizing a tiered pricing grid, merchants can alleviate the cost of accepting credit cards, while still providing their customers with the freedom to choose their preferred method of payment.
1. Published by VISA in the Card Acceptance and Chargeback Management Guide for VISA Merchants, ???2004