IMG April 2015 Newsletter by Deliverabilities

NEWS ISSUE 06/ APRIL 2015

Setting the Standard

LAMERS

Bus Lines FEATURE IMG COMPANY

New Entrant Safety Assurance Program Top 10 Tax and Accounting Mistakes

Cost Companies Billions 3 Best Practices of All-Star

Sales Forces

Better fleet photography

B2B Content Marketing 101: Blogging/

I hear a lot of questions about blogging from B2B business leaders: I want to drive more...

How to Determine the Perfect Marketing Budget for Your Company/

BUILDING TRUST: IT’S NOT A ONEAND-DONE DEAL/

So you have the best idea on the planet but no clue how you’re going to get it in front...

What role does trust play in employee engagement? It’s a fairly large one....

New Entrant Safety Assurance Program/

BETTER FLEET PHOTOGRAPHY (FOR LESS)!/

New Entrant Safety Assurance Programs affect U.S. and Canada-based motor carriers...

Over the last few months, one of the most common questions that I receive is “How are...

Fischer Vows FMCSA Fix/

Citing serious concerns with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s “flawed...

How Do You Deal With the Guilt That Comes With Firing an Employee?/

Editor’s note: Inc.com columnist Alison Green answers questions...

FMCSA Establishes Committee to Update Truck and Bus Driver Training/

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration...

Top 10 Tax and Accounting Mistakes Cost Companies Billions/ With tax season officially underway, many corporate tax and accounting departments...

HOW TO CREATE AN EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK PEOPLE WILL ACTUALLY WANT TO READ/

Ask someone to describe a typical employee handbook and you’ll probably hear words...

3 Best Practices of All-Star Sales Forces (Infographic)/

How well is your company managing its sales pipeline, and does it really matter?...

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President â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Message IMG Shareholder Companies gathered at a special meeting in March to revisit our goals and objectives as we look forward into 2020.

form the network; confidence in the dedication that those companies give to their training, safety and maintenance programs.

Much continues to change in the motorcoach world Today the industry is dealing with such things as expanded investigations by DOT; increases in regulations with much discussion currently about insurance levels; smaller groups which has resulted in a strong demand for smaller vehicles and electronic logs for drivers.

We look forward to seeing many of our friends and customers in the next few months at key trade events such as IPW (formerly Pow Wow) and at College Athletic Business Managers Association (CABMA), both events in Orlando in June.

So how do we plan for a world that changes so fast? Keeping close to our customers, and understanding their needs and future needs helps us to work in partnership. Changing products, changing work environments, increasing commitments to safety, are key areas of discussion that we see today. What will the product of 2020 look like? We know that motorcoaches will continue to become more sophisticated. What was once a value add, for instance Wi-Fi, power plugs, will just become standard feature. The environmental demands to be green will increase, and motorcoach transportation is at the ready to answer that call.

Remember that for more information about IMG and our member companies, go to: www.imgcoach. com or use our digital version of the Travel Resource Guide http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/IMGR/ IMGR0014/index.php

Leading Motorcoach Companies of North America

2015 IMG Travel Resource Guide Your TrANsporTATioN CoNNeCTioN

At IMG we look forward to continued growth and a strong commitment to build the brand value of IMG to our customers. The IMG Brand reflects confidence â&#x20AC;&#x201C; confidence in the 52 companies that

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Bronwyn Wilson President, IMG

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IMG News Southeastern Stagelines

Lamers Bus Lines

Holiday Tours

Launches new website

Honored by ESGR

Wins Motorocoach Rodeo

Southeastern Stages, Atlanta, recently released their new and improved website www.southeasternstages.com. The new design offers customers a fresh look and easier opportunities to purchase tickets and complete charter reservations for one of the region’s most established brands.

A very special honor, the Seven Seals Award, was bestowed on Lamers Bus Lines, WI, employee, Theresa Hanneman by ESGR – Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. Lamer’s is a proud supporter of the Uniformed Service Employment and RE-Employment Rights Act (USERRA).

Stephen Russell, from Holiday Tours, was recognized as Grand Champion after winning the joint NCMA (North Carolina Motorcoach Association) and MCASC (Motorcoach Association of South Carolina) Motorcoach Rodeo. The Motorcoach Rodeo competition is based on a driving skills course and a test based on knowledge of DOT rules and regulations. Congratulations Stephen!

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Hampton Jitney

Mid-American Coaches

Arrow Stage Lines

First wheelchair temsa

#1 for Wedding Transportation

Adds new vehicles to fleet

Earlier this year Hampton Jitney took delivery of the very first wheel chair equipped Temsa TS30. Hampton Jitneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s President Geoffrey Lynch, welcomed Jitney #139 at the 2015 UMA Motorcoach EXPO in New Orleans.

Congratulations to Mid-American Coaches, who were voted the #1 transportation company in the Washington Missourianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Best of 2015 contest for wedding transportation.

Arrow Stage Lines received 4 new MCI J4500 coaches, 54 seat coaches are equipped with Arrow Connect. Each coach delivered to Arrow Stage Lines this year will arrive on scene with a carbon fiber, stainless brushed steel or other new graphic material.

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IMG Feature Company Lamers Bus Lines Every morning after stopping by his office in Green Bay, Allen Lamers, president of Lamers Bus Lines, hops in his truck and hits the road. Some days he’ll head north, sometimes south and some days, west. On any given day, he is going to check in with some of the 32 Lamers Bus Lines locations and drop off bus parts. While some presidents of companies this size manage from their offices, that’s not Allen’s way. He prefers to be out on the road, seeing his drivers in their home communities — on their own turf. Currently Lamers Bus Lines has 30 Wisconsin locations, one location in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and a location in Central Florida, near Ocala and The Villages. Lamers has more than 1,600 employees, most of them working part-time as drivers, either in school bus or motor coach. There are more than 110 motor coaches, more than 1,100 school buses and a few dozen specialty vehicles like trolleys, limousines, limo coaches and medical transport vehicles. Despite the company’s variety and size, Lamers Bus Lines operates successfully and continues to grow because of their commitment to family, community and safety.

Growth and Giving Back In September 1944, the late Lyle and Ellen Lamers started Lamers Bus Lines with one 1936 red, white and blue school bus, which they used to transport students from the Grant School District (now the West De Pere School District) near Green Bay, Wisconsin. From there, the school bus business grew and by the end of the 1966, Lamers had moved off of the farm into their Green Bay corporate office.

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It was around that time that Lamers starting growing beyond their Green Bay area footprint and began expanding into motor coaches. Their first motor coach was an old Greyhound PD 3751. Starting in 1974, Lamers began purchasing new motor coaches, and expanded their fleet by one new bus per year for the next decade. In November of 1980, the Interstate Commerce Commission granted Lamers Bus Lines permission to transport charter bus tours anywhere in the

continental United States, and organize group tours to sell on a per-person basis, which Lamers currently does through Lamers Tour and Travel. Since 1992, Allen and his brother Kevin Lamers — along with their children — have taken over the day to day responsibilities of running the company and the fourth generation of Lamers has started to work at the company as well. The family commitment extends beyond blood relations and is proven by the 265 employees who have been with the company for 10 years or longer. “We’re lucky to have people like that, who are dedicated and truly like members of the family,” says Allen. In return, the company and staff are dedicated to the communities they serve. Since its start as a school bus company, Lamers Bus Lines is dedicated to our local schools and universities and likes to donate significantly back to these institutions. In addition, Lamers regularly donates to many worthy charities and veterans organizations. Everyone at Lamers recognizes the need to give back and is encouraged to recommend ways to do so.

Focus on Training and Safety Lamers Bus Lines has a unique measure of training to keep drivers up-to-date. The mobile driving simulator coach is a classroom on wheels that Lamers Bus Lines can bring from terminal to terminal to train new drivers to be confident behind the wheel before they even turn the key to an actual bus or motor coach. They will also use it to refresh driving skills without putting drivers, passengers or vehicles at risk. “The simulator really helps us enforce and ingrain the SIPDE process with our drivers,” says Lamers Safety Director, Ed Shoning. SIPDE stands for Scan, Identify, Predict, Decide and Execute and is the basis for driver training at Lamers Bus Lines. The simulator coach can replicate thousands of driving situations from snowy or icy conditions, to driving with a flat tire or having mechanical issues with a bus. Running simulations of these scenarios gives drivers a chance to practice how they would handle a situation long before they experience it, if ever. “To date, we have trained more than 1,500 drivers in the simulator coach since 2011,” says Shoning. Lamers Bus Lines is used to being a leader in safety and in 2012 received the IMG Safety Award. “We’re very happy and proud to be a part of the IMG family,” says Allen Lamers.

The Future As Allen heads back home at the end of another day on the road, he looks towards the future and the new Lamers terminals he will have to add to his weekly route. Lamers Bus Lines is set to grow again next year and well into the future. And with this continued growth, Allen says he will remain focused on the family values that have gotten the company where it is today. It’s been a ride far beyond expectations so far,” Allen says, “but we’re always there to help our community, customers and fellow IMG members.”

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Building Trust

Building trust: It’s not a one-anddone deal If ethics, trust and employee engagement are inextricably linked, then all people with leadership roles must put trust-building on the front burner. Trust isn’t a “one and done” endeavor; it requires continual investment in the leader-employee relationship. 10 www.greenazine.com

What role does trust play in employee engagement? It’s a fairly large one, according to this Towers Watson research. The study cites leaders’ ability to “earn the trust and confidence” of employees as one of the top drivers of employee engagement. There is also compelling evidence that trustworthiness has ties to ethics, which significantly ups the stakes. According to research conducted by The Ethics Resource Center (ERC), organizations with a

clear “ethical culture” — which the ERC defines as a leadership group’s “commitment to open and honest communication, positive ethical role modeling, and accountability” — scored higher on employee engagement scores. These findings hold true for both senior management teams and direct supervisors.

If ethics, trust and employee engagement are inextricably linked, then all people with leadership roles must put trustbuilding on the front burner. Trust isn’t a “one and done” endeavor; it requires continual investment in the leader-employee relationship. The five actions below comprise

an excellent start to making a daily effort towards building your leadership trustworthiness. Get to know people’s minds and hearts. It’s not enough to simply understand your team members’ skill sets; you must also consider their motivations. Why do your team www.greenazine.com

members come to work? You already surmise they work for the paycheck and possibly, the social stimulation. For many people, there’s yet another reason that drives them to excel at work. Cheryl Batchelder, CEO of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, is fond of saying, “I must know you to grow you.” She encourages all members of 12 www.greenazine.com

the Popeyes team to create a personal mission statement and share it with their team leaders. As Batchelder writes in her book “Dare to Serve,” “If a leader doesn’t know [their team members’] talents, we cannot put people in a position for success.”

Keep promises. Nothing erodes trust in a leader faster than broken promises. When you keep your promises, you build a track record of positive consistency, not a trail of disappointments and letdowns. Think about the last time you broke a promise to someone at work — what were the conditions surrounding the breakdown? Did you give false hope as a way to mitigate a disappointment you knew was inevitable? Did your overenthusiastic nature get in the way and you bit off more than you could chew? When someone makes a request and you know the answer is “no,” then it’s better to let them down immediately (with the appropriate explanation) than to string them along, hoping something will change for the better. Maintain confidences. This shows you have integrity, which according to the Edelman’s 2015 Trust Barometer research report is the top attribute in the ability to build trust. Keeping confidences goes way beyond the obvious examples of avoiding gossip or conveying privileged information contained in people’s employee file. When you decide what types of information to share regarding your team members, think about their personalities. For example, some people may be perfectly fine with you mentioning that they are about to become a parent; others may prefer to share that information more discreetly. Even sharing work-related information may be sensitive: some people love the limelight; others prefer to receive praise in private. Ask, “How are you doing?” Then shut up and listen. When you truly listen to what people say, you will learn about them. Practice what I call “listening

between the lines.” This means you listen not only to the content of the message (“I don’t think this project is going to succeed”) but also hear the underlying message (“and I’m worried that my job is on the line.”) And only ask “how are you doing?” when you really have the time to listen. You never know what’s going to come out of someone’s mouth and you do more harm than good by tossing off a rushed, “Oh, sorry to hear that … um, can we talk later? I’ve got a 2 o’clock in about five minutes.” Back your people up. When advising leaders, I offer this counsel: support in public, coach in private. Your team needs to know you have their back. If they know they won’t be publicly castigated for an oversight, they won’t waste time playing “CYA” or the blame game. Instead, they’ll get on with the business of fixing their error. If you observe the mishandling of something, keep a lid on your frustration and give feedback (and, ideally, coaching as well) in private. The unfortunate reality in human relationships is that it takes far less time to shatter trust than to build it. Leaders must assiduously check their trust-building behaviors to be sure that trust is continually growing amongst themselves and their team members. Not only does this make for strong teams, it improves employee engagement.

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Photography

Better Fleet Photograp 14 www.greenazine.com

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Over the last few months, one of the most common questions that I receive is “How are we supposed to get good photos of our coaches?” Let’s face it. Every day your coaches hit the road to do interesting things, filled with interesting people and yet, when it comes time to drop a few key shots into the Motorcoach Marketing Council’s online toolbox to make that pretty new brochure you’re left choosing from a stack of images at are old and tired. There are a number of things that I hear when it comes to photography in the motorcoach business. The first is “It is so expensive!” The truth is that if you called and hired a photographer to go out and take photos of your coaches every day or week, you would be right. Photographers, myself included, do cost real money, and while they definitely have their time and place, it certainly is not in day to day operations. While photography is not necessarily free, it does not have to be expensive as we will discuss here. The second thing that I hear is “No one in our office is really a good photographer!” Now, if we were talking about you coming to shoot a wedding or perhaps take pictures that had to be on the cover of a magazine, that may be true. However, what we are talking about here is good pictures of your coaches and smiley-happy people on those coaches. The old adage of even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally, definitely applies here. With the increased quality of point and shoot cameras as long as you keep pointing and keep shooting… you are bound to find a few good shots in the stack. So, now that we have those out of the way, we can move on to the plan that will help you get more images of your coaches doing the things that you want your potential customers to know that you are an expert in. The Driver Photo Program. The basics of this plan are pretty simple. First, buy no less than four cheap point and shoot cameras from your local big box store or online outlet.

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A quick search on amazon.com for “point and shoot camera” turned up the #1 result of a decent quality Sony camera for $68. A few of these shouldn’t break the bank. Although they are not a “professional grade” camera, you won’t have to swallow to hard when one gets broken or lost.

Next, and this is the fun part, you setup your driver/staff program. Although we call this the driver program, the same idea applies to step on guides, on-site managers, or the like. Basically anyone who is already working on a coach or onsite could have a few extra minutes in the day to shoot some pictures.

This program is designed to reward those taking pictures for you. We will cover the ways that some people are doing that later, but first we want to talk about how to start. Break the compensation up into 2 or 3 categories. Social media photos, photos used on your website, and photos that you

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use in print. If you are going to only do 2, use social media as one and the others as the second. The point here is to create a flow of photos. In social media, photos are a great way to share a message without saying much. For example, if you have photos of your coaches doing weddings, you don’t have to harp on the fact that you do them. The same goes with any market you are trying to reach. As you plan your compensation, remember that the point is to have a lot of useful photos so make sure that you don’t create a monster that will suck you dry. Creating a monthly budget is a great way to get started. There are a number of ways to deal with the reward part as well. The first is cold hard cash… money. Simply put a bounty on the different groups of photos. For example, pay $5 for social media photos and $25 for the others. Another way I have seen it done well is to offer a point system towards a company store where the employees

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build up points and can spend them on some sort of reward. These companies usually will buy things that they think their staff may like. They shop for items at deep discounts and create a way for them to buy it when they have earned enough points. The last way that we have seen it done is where each photo gets them some number of entries into a drawing. At the end of each month, a ticket is drawn for a prize (think tablet or cash).This option has its benefits as the winner gets something really good, but the downside can be that someone who took a lot of pictures and did not win has the tendency to disengage. The next step, once you decide which way you are going to go as far as compensation is concerned is to assign someone on your staff to manage the logistics. Here are the things that you need to give consideration to. First, the cameras need to be checked out by a driver/staffer who wants to use them and they need to understand that they are responsible for it while it

is checked out. This can be tricky if the return yard time is well after closing or the starting time before opening. Some companies will actually assign cameras with dispatch paperwork to drivers that are traveling to destinations they would like photographed. Others have it on a “take it if it is available basis. The coordinator needs to ensure that the photos are gone through quickly after a trip and that the appropriate compensation is given or at least recorded. In the case of cash, many people find that actually handing out the cash at driver meetings can be a good motivator to get more people involved. One of the questions that will inevitably come up is what if people want to use their own cameras. Our recommendation is that you publish minimum quality standards such as 1280×720 for social media images at 72 DPI and 1800×1200 at 300 DPI for print quality. This print quality is a 5in x 7in equivalent. It can be troublesome to scale up, but will work for most ads and brochures. If they are going to send you images from their own cameras, you will want to set up some sort of a way for them to give them to you that is not just email. These are large files and can bog down a companies email servers in a hurry. You can use services like dropbox.com, flickr.com, yogile.com and others to create shared folders that your drivers can upload to. Try to avoid people coming in and handing you a phone and saying “There are some shots on here.” You may need to send an email, or print a form, with instructions. Another question you will inevitably run into is the rights to use photos with your customers on your coaches. There are a number of ways to handle this. First, and probably the easiest is to make a global change to your contract that states that you reserve the right to capture images of their group on your coach and use them in your marketing efforts. There are others methods out there such as having people in the photos sign releases. However, this adds a step that few drivers are willing to take. The golden rule here is that if anyone ever asks to have you remove a photo, or not to use it, simply respect that. If you are making a large investment (like a billboard or something) with a photo and you wonder if the person could take issue with it. Ask them, it will save you time and money. Now, like any marketing, once you have this program up and running, don’t forget to use the photos you

The key to this program is that you will get lots of images back. Most will be no good, some will be alright and a few will be wonderful. are buying. I recommend that if you are buying social media images, make the prerequisite that you post them before you pay for them. If the photographer has an account on the network that you post it on, tag them in the photo or mention them. This will help people get engaged with the content and will drive more viral results. The key to this program is that you will get lots of images back. Most will be no good, some will be alright and a few will be wonderful. This is a great way to involve your staff in the collection of these images and a fantastic tool to engage them all in the overall goal of paying attention for opportunities to promote the company. There are lots of great videos out there to teach even the most hesitant camera operators how to use a camera, how to compose a shot and how to deal with lighting. If you find that, your image quality is so low that you can’t use them, maybe spend some time in a drivers meeting watching a few. Photos can be the difference between landing more charter work and busses sitting in the yard. You know you are great at everything you do, but as motorcoach operators we can’t expect our customers and potential customers to take our word for it. A good image is worth a thousand words and a great one even more. I hope that this helps you get more photos and that you will use those photos to take your business to new heights.

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FMCSA

Fischer Vows FMCSA Fix Citing serious concerns with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s “flawed approach,” Sen. Debra Fischer (R-Neb.) said she plans to unveil legislation that would reform safety initiatives. She made the announcement at a hearing here March 4 with the acting head of the FMCSA, Scott Darling, who revealed his tenure is soon to end. Darling’s term will expire March 23, and the White House is working on a permanent selection. He did not say whether he is among the candidates. Fischer, chairwoman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, said the legislation will seek to create greater transparency of the agency’s regulatory process, guarantee FMCSA carries out more cost-benefit analyses and conduct realworld studies of proposed regulations, such as the hours-of-service rule.

Darling’s term will expire March 23, and the White House is working on a permanent selection. 20 www.greenazine.com

“FMCSA issued the final 34-hour restart rule in 2013 with complete disregard for congressionally mandated requirements for an efficacy study on the rule’s impact,” Fischer said. “When the study was eventually issued several months late, the sample size was not representative of this diverse industry.”

Trucking industry leaders have repeatedly called on the agency to be more transparent and collaborative in the rulemaking process. After the hearing, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), the subcommittee’s ranking member, told Transport Topics that he remains determined to restore the recently suspended hours-of-service restart provision.

“I think we have a serious issue, as everybody concludes, about driver fatigue, and it is culpable for many accidents and many deaths. And this seems like a reasonable evidence-based, databased rule, and it should not have been suspended. And I’m going to look to see as soon as possible for us to return it,” Booker said.

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He added that he likely will wait and see what the opportunities are to proceed, suggesting that could entail waiting until FMCSA presents Congress with a study about the rule’s safety effects. Last year, Booker and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) fought to block any change to the HOS rule. But under a funding law Congress passed in December, the requirement that drivers take off two consecutive periods of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. during a 34hour restart was suspended through Sept. 30. Before the suspension expires, FMCSA is required to complete a review of safety claims. A majority of Republicans who supported the rule’s suspension are expected to push back on Booker’s efforts. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute was selected to conduct the study, and Darling said he expects the findings to be released later this year. Also at the hearing, Darling told senators the Obama administration’s upcoming transportation legislative proposal would improve safety provisions at the agency, and it would ensure “fair compensation for the hours” commercial drivers work. Joseph Comé, the Department of Transportation’s deputy principal assistant inspector general for auditing and evaluation, testified as well. He said that FMCSA has made progress with its safety programs but still has challenges in improving its Compliance, Safety, Accountability data quality, shutting down “reincarnated” carriers and enforcing some regulations. Likewise, Susan Fleming, director of infrastructure issues for the Government Accountability Office, told the subcommittee that there are questions about the reliability of CSA’s safety measurement system in predicting carrier crashes, as well as the agency’s ability to determine the prevalence of so-called chameleon carriers operating on U.S. highways using different company names. “We agree with FMCSA that a data-driven approach is critical for accomplishing its mission,” Fleming said. “However, we do not believe the agency has developed the most effective methods for using its data to target carriers presenting the greatest safety risk.” Christopher Hart, acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, testified the increasing

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number of fatalities from truck-involved crashes was a top reason the board listed truck safety as one of this year’s top 10 areas in need of improvement. He said his agency has identified shortcomings in FMCSA investigations of motor carriers that have allowed deficient carriers to continue to operate. “The NTSB has issued 126 safety recommendations to the FMCSA, and more than half of them remain open,” Hart told the subcommittee. Hart testified that fatigue is “far too often” cited as a contributing factor in truck accidents. “The NTSB sees a disturbing trend of crashes involving fatigued drivers operating well in excess of hours-of-service limitations,” he said. “The FMCSA must expeditiously issue the final electronic logging device rule to increase hours-of-service compliance for maximum safety.” Hart also encouraged Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to direct FMCSA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require carriers to deploy safety systems such as speed limiters, forward collision warning and electronic stability control. The day before, Foxx told the full Senate Commerce panel that the White House soon will unveil a “new and improved” transportation funding plan. Details of the six-year, $478 billion legislative proposal, an update of last year’s Grow America Act, were revealed in the fiscal 2016 budget the Obama administration sent to Congress on Feb. 2. “Our six-year proposal will provide the funding growth and long-term certainty so desperately needed by our states and local communities so they can make real progress on addressing our infrastructure deficit,” Foxx said.

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Blogging

B2B Content Marketing 101: Blogging I hear a lot of questions about blogging from B2B business leaders:

I really just want to drive leads. Why do I need to spend time on a blog?

I want to drive more traffic to my company’s website, so I’m going to write one blog post a month. How fast will my traffic start growing?

I don’t have time for blogging. Isn’t there a simpler way to improve my website’s SEO?

I already post original content on LinkedIn. Do I really need a blog on my company website, too?”

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No matter what your specific content marketing goals are, you need a company blog at the center of your content strategy. Most B2B leaders and marketers know blogging is

important, but aren’t always sure why — and many would love to hear that they don’t actually need to be blogging at all. But here’s the simple truth: Blogging is important. In fact, I’d say it’s the most important part of a solid B2B content marketing strategy. Publishing interesting blog posts on a consistent basis is an important way to win over your prospects and

Google’s algorithm. At Rep Cap, we think of a blog as the hub of all of a company’s content. If you want to drive more traffic, get more leads or grow brand awareness, blogging is the place to start. So, I chose blogging as the first topic in our new B2B Content Marketing 101 series. In this post, I’ll share why blogging matters, how often you should blog, how to set up an editorial calendar and how to repurpose blog posts. Why Blogging Matters for B2B Companies First, a few stats: Companies that blog are 13 times more likely to generate positive marketing ROI, according to HubSpot’s State of Inbound, 2014

Companies that blog have 80 percent more new visits, according to this 2015 Quick Sprout infographic. B2B marketers using blogs generate 67 percent more leads, according to this 2015 Quick Sprout infographic. Beyond leads and traffic, running a regularly-updated blog is a great way to tell your audience who you are and what you stand for. Blogging can help you build connections with industry thought leaders, experts and customers, and it can help you define and clarify your thinking about important industry trends and topics. As a B2B content marketing agency, we see the benefits of consistent blogging every time we run a marketing report. Our clients have seen their website traffic increase

Companies that blog are 13 times more likely to generate positive marketing ROI, according to HubSpot’s State of Inbound, 2014 www.greenazine.com

as much as 60 percent in a year’s time, just from committing to regular blogging. How Often Should B2B Companies Blog? There isn’t a hard and fast rule for how often you should publish new posts on your company blog, but our baseline suggestion for most B2B companies is two times per week. Through a combination of internal and external resources, most companies can make that happen. Have the resources to blog more often? Do it! Hubspot research shows blogs updated more frequently drive more traffic — 82 percent of marketers who blog daily acquired a customer using their blog, as opposed to 57 percent of marketers who blog monthly.

Who will find images? Then, map out your blog plan in an editorial calendar. There are a lot of emerging tools out there to help marketers build, organize and update their editorial calendars. But even if you’re just starting in a spreadsheet, it pays to make a plan. How to Repurpose Blog Posts If your blog is the hub of all of your content marketing, what should you do with posts after you click “publish”? My answer: repurpose, repurpose, repurpose. Here are some ways to get extra mileage out of your blog posts:

My only caveat: One good post is always better than 10 rushed, sloppy, poorly written ones. Don’t publish for the sake of publishing. Blog as often as you’re able to provide helpful, useful content for your readers.

Share your most popular blog posts in an email newsletter each month.

How to Set Up an Editorial Calendar for Blogging

Repackage several blog posts on a single topic into a downloadable guide or e-book.

Once you’ve decided blogging is an important marketing tool for your company, where should you start? The secret to a successful blog is a well-executed plan. Decide what your editorial process will look like and what roles you’ll need to fill: Who will set the blog post topics for the month? Who will do the writing, editing and formatting?

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Share tips and stats from blog posts on social media.

Use your blog posts to guide content for events and speaking opportunities. Send relevant blog posts to new leads and customers.

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Marketing Budget

How to Determine the Perfe Budget for Your Company

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ect Marketing

So you have the best idea on the planet but no clue how you’re going to get it in front of an audience. That’s where marketing comes in. While the marketing industry is filled with strategies and ideas, it’s easy to get flustered by all the things you “should” be doing to help your company grow. Ultimately, it all comes down to planning and budget. So let’s pull back the velvet curtain on what pricing really looks like and what you can actually expect for your dollar spend. Here are a few tips for navigating that elusive marketing budget:

Marketing math The first question we ask a new client is, “Do you know what your budget is?” Usually that’s when we see the client’s eyes get as big as saucers as they reply, “I have no idea! That’s what I thought you were here for.” Over the past five years, we’ve developed what we call “marketing math” to help clients define exactly what they should be spending on marketing:

New companies: For companies that have

been in business for one to five years, we suggest using 12 to 20 percent of your gross revenue or projected revenue on marketing. (Companies less than a year old, tend to need to ramp up before spending marketing dollars.)

Established

companies:

For those companies that have been in business more than five years and have some market share/ brand equity, we suggest allocating between 6 and 12 percent of your gross revenue or projected revenue. While this may seem like a lot, remember new and emerging brands are looking to capture new market share and develop brand recognition with an audience that has absolutely no idea who they are. That’s why it’s so expensive. Once the brand is

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established and a portion of the market is brandconscious that number drops significantly.

Social media

Chicken and egg marketing

Content

I need to grow my brand to make money, but I have no money to help do that. Sound familiar? We call this chicken and egg marketing. I’m here to tell you, to establish a brand you have to crack many, many eggs. That’s why it’s so critical that startups and established brands alike are well funded. It’s like building a house: It’s almost always going to take more time and way more money than expected. If you aren’t well funded, make sure your dollars are spent wisely and tied tightly to specific deliverables. There is nothing worse than spending every penny you have to build something the wrong way only to have to start over again. So do it right the first time.

FOMO (Fear of missing out) This term applies to marketing just as much as it does to your Saturday night plans. There are certain unalienable marketing rights of passage that you must spend time and money on so you don’t miss the brand boat: Branding Website 30 www.greenazine.com

Advertising Events Now obviously the mix and dollar spend on each of these will differ significantly based on your product or service but resign yourself to the fact that each of these will take a sizeable bite out of your budget. How much should each of these channels? Fees can range depending on the age and size of the company and national, local or global marketing goals. But here are some basics:

Branding Inexpensive: 99designs $400 and does not include additional collateral (business cards, letter heads, email templates, etc.). Good: Small agency may charge between $4,000 to $5,000 and should include all necessary collateral. Great: More than $10,000 and this is if you are going to a large agency who is creating your entire brand book, story and collateral, among other assets.

Website

Content

Inexpensive: Wix or WordPress can be a do-ityourself website and can be free.

Inexpensive: Hire an intern

Good: For a Wordpress site designed to look like your brand, it will usually cost you around $3,500 and add an additional $2,000 or more if you need a plugin shopping cart. Great: At least $15,000. The price will depend on functionality, automation and design, among other components.

Social media Inexpensive: Hire an intern or a college student. Good: Between $1,500 and $2,500 for a small agency. Great: More than $4,000. The price is based on number of platforms, listening software, amount of real-time interaction and PR integration.

Advertising Inexpensive: Tell your friends and word of mouth Good: Some social media marketing (between $300 and $500 a month) along with targeted ads on relevant websites, which is around $500 a month.

Good: A freelancer platform like Odesk.com, where you can name your own price Great: Agency content usually runs $250 and $1,000 per piece depending on word count and graphics

Events Inexpensive: Show up and network at other people’s events Good: Cross-market with another brand with the same target audience Great: Full events strategy. For production teams, small event start at around $5,000 and can reach into the millions. There’s no magic bullet to reaching your marketing goals, but there are steps to take to ensure you’re building your brand in a measured, directed fashion that spends your money wisely.

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Great: Full social, outdoor, print, digital, pay-per-click will set you back at least $3,000.

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Safety Assurance Program

New Entrant Safety Assuran 32 www.greenazine.com

nce Program

New Entrant Safety Assurance Programs affect U.S. and Canada-based motor carriers. New Entrant is a motor carrier not domiciled in Mexico that applies for a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) identification number, in order to initiate operations in interstate commerce. www.greenazine.com

Overview

FMCSA will:

Conduct a Safety Audit on the New Entrant

Becoming a New Entrant

The Safety Audits and Compliance Reviews

New Entrant Period

Monitor safety inspections

performance

through

roadside

Grant permanent authority, if safe

Safety Audits and Compliance Reviews Automatic Failure of the Safety Audit

Who is involved?

HHG and ADA Compliance

A certified U.S. federal safety investigator, state or provincial enforcement officer.

Frequently Asked Questions

The motor carrier (possibly including managers, drivers, mechanics, and other staff).

Becoming a New Entrant Carriers seeking to operate in interstate commerce must complete form MCS-150 “Combined Motor Carrier Identification Report.” To apply for Interstate Operating Authority, a carrier must complete the appropriate form in the OP-1 series. Assistance is available at the “Get Authority to Operate” web page.

The New Entrant Period

When will a Safety Audit or review occur? Within the 18-month monitoring period.

When will Compliance Reviews/Intervention occur? At any time FMCSA safety data indicates problems.

The New Entrant will be monitored during the initial 18-month period.

Where will these take place? Generally audits, compliance reviews/interventions take place at the principal place of business.

The New Entrant must: Operate Safely Maintain up-to-date records Conduct periodic inspections maintenance on CMVs. Pass the Safety Audit

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Automatic Failure of the Safety Audit and

perform

A New Entrant will AUTOMATICALLY FAIL the Safety Audit for violations related to:

Alcohol and Drug Violations

Results of the Safety Audit

No alcohol and/or drug testing program.

If passed, FMCSA will continue to monitor the New Entrantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s safety compliance and performance.

No RANDOM alcohol and/or drug testing program. Using a driver who refused a required alcohol or drug test. Using a driver the company knows had a blood alcohol content of 0.04 or greater.

If failed, New Entrants must satisfactorily implement a corrective action to correct safety management practices. Failure to do so will result in immediate revocation of U.S. DOT registration.

Using a driver who failed to complete required followup procedures after testing positive for drugs.

HHG and ADA Compliance

Driver Violations

Household Goods (HHG) Regulations

A New Entrant fails the Safety Audit for knowingly:

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Using a driver without a valid CDL.

Compliance with HHG and ADA requirements will not be a factor in determining the outcome of a Safety Audit, but may result in further investigation by other federal and state agencies.

Using a disqualified driver. Using a driver with a revoked, suspended, or cancelled CDL. Using a medically unqualified driver.

Operations Violations Operating a motor vehicle without having in effect the required level of insurance. Failing to require drivers to make hours-of-service records.

Some New Entrant carriers are also required to be in compliance with:

Chameleon Carriers Carriers may not register for a new U.S. DOT number to avoid paying civil penalties or avoid previous OOS Orders. If a carrier provides false information or hides information when it applies or reapplies for a U.S. DOT number, the carrier may be issued an OOS Order, and/ or be fined.

Repairs and Inspections Violations Operating a vehicle declared Out-of-Service for safety deficiencies before repairs are made.

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Not performing OOS repairs reported in driver-vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs). Operating a CMV not periodically inspected.

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Firing an Employee

How Do You Deal With the Guilt That Comes With Firing an Employee? Editor’s note: Inc.com columnist Alison Green answers questions about workplace and management issues--everything from how to deal with a micromanaging boss to how to talk to someone on your team about body odor. A reader writes: Recently I had to fire one of my employees. There was a history of tardiness, no-call/no-show behavior, and lack of performance at work. All of this behavior was documented, and the employee was put on at least two action plans. I tried sharing tips from my own life, giving clear warnings about the problem, and giving praise when I saw a job well done. I really wanted my employee to succeed. I knew that she was the sole provider for her family and her son is very young. I feel that the firing was just, and quite frankly, the right thing to do.

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Her performance was starting to affect her co-workers. We did all that we could to modify the employee’s behavior before it came an issue. In the end, however, the employee choose not to change her behavior. I am grieving for her. I know that her life has been made very difficult by this termination. I’m just wondering how long this feeling of being “bummed” will last. This is the first time I’ve had to fire an employee. Firing someone is usually a terrible feeling. It feels terrible even if the person has been warned repeatedly and had every chance to improve. It’s someone’s livelihood, after all, and it’s tough to be the person who takes paying work away from someone. In fact, if it ever doesn’t feel difficult to fire someone, it’s probably worth looking inward to figure out where your compassion went. However, as hard as firing someone

is, it’s also critically important to your job as a manager. Having the right people on your team makes an enormous difference in how effective you are and how much you achieve. And so holding a high bar and expecting people to meet it, warning them when they’re falling short, and taking action when that doesn’t change anything are some of your most basic and crucial responsibilities as a manager.

And remember that you didn’t fire this employee on a whim or without warning or for an unjust reason. It sounds like you clearly told her what she would need to change to keep her job, and she chose not to make those changes (changes that sound pretty simple to make). You also need to remember that she’s an adult who makes her own choices, and those choices have consequences. Maybe this will be a wake-up call for

her that will help her do better in the future. Or maybe it won’t. But again, you treated her fairly and honestly, and you made the right choice for your team, and that’s all you can do. By the way, it’s worth noting that there are two different types of firings: There are firings like this one, which could have been avoided if the employee had been motivated to save her job but chose not to do what that would require (whether it’s coming

in on time, or meeting deadlines, or following directions--i.e., things within most people’s control). And then there are firings that happen when the person is trying really hard and just can’t meet the bar you need. The second type is a lot harder. When someone is trying hard to meet your expectations, he or she still might ultimately fail and you might need to let them go, but those will usually weigh on you a lot more than having

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to fire someone who, say, falsified a timesheet or blew off work. So if you look at that way, you’re actually lucky that she made it so clear-cut for you. And she did make it clear-cut; her behavior sounds far, far over the line. Not showing up to work and not bothering to call? That would have gotten her fired on the spot in a lot of places (and probably should have with you). She was being pretty flagrant in her disrespect for you and her co-workers. In fact, it sounds like you might be spending more time feeling bad about firing her than she spent thinking about her job in the first place. All that said, it’s good and normal to feel compassion. But make sure that you’re also feeling good about looking out for the health of your team, holding people accountable for their own behavior, and enforcing fair and reasonable consequences. There are managers out there who

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don’t do those things, and believe me, they’re the ones whom great employees don’t want to work for. So hard as this was, you’re a better manager for doing it. And now hopefully you can give that job to someone who deserves it.

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Setra - a brand of Daimler AG

Don’t be fooled by its pretty face

Once again, Setra has raised the benchmark in the North American luxury motorcoach segment, with over 30 innovations in design, passenger and driver comfort, safety and environmental efficiencies. Daimler’s new, unique Front Collision Guard (FCG), for instance, is a passive safety system engineered to protect the driver and tour guide in the case of a frontal impact. Experience the all-new Setra TopClass S 417. From Daimler Buses North America, the worldwide leading manufacturer of buses and motorcoaches.

Motor Coach Industries 1700 East Golf Road, Suite 300 · Schaumburg, Illinois 60173 · Phone 866-624-2622 Distributor of EvoBus GmbH for Setra buses and Setra parts in the United States and Canada

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Driver Training

FMCSA Establishes Comm Update Truck and Bus Dr

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mittee to river Training The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) last month announced the formation of a 26-member advisory committee that is tasked with updating classroom and new behind-the-wheel training requirements for professional truck and bus drivers. “Over the next 30 years, we’re going to be relying on trucks – and truckers – to move more than 40 percent more freight than they currently do,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “With more people and freight crossing our country than ever before, this committee’s work will be critical to ensuring that commercial drivers are fully capable of operating their vehicles safely.” In December, FMCSA reported that it intended to establish a committee to examine minimum training requirements, including length of classroom instruction and behind-the-wheel experience, accreditation versus certification of Commercial Driver’s License training programs and schools, curricula for passenger, property and hazardous materials carriers, instructor qualifications, as well as other areas.

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The Entry-Level Driver Training Advisory Committee comprises a diverse crosssection of motor carrier interests, including training organizations, the intercity bus and trucking industries, law enforcement, labor unions, and safety advocates. The committee is tasked with negotiating the issues to be addressed in a proposed training rule, which the agency intends to issue by the fall of 2015, with a final rule expected in 2016.

Meetings

“Ensuring roadway safety starts with the driver,” said FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darling. “Finalizing new training requirements for truck and bus operators is one of my top priorities and we have tapped a group of uniquely qualified stakeholders to help us work through the details and meet this goal.”

49 CFR Part 380, Subpart E: CDL Entry-Level Driver Training April 9-10, 2015 Crystal City Marriott at Reagan National Airport 1999 Jefferson Davis Highway Arlington, Virginia

The first meeting of the advisory committee was held on Feb. 26 and 27 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Va. and was open to the public. The MAP-21 transportation bill directed FMCSA to establish new minimum training requirements for individuals seeking to obtain an intrastate or interstate commercial driver’s license and become a professional truck or bus operator. In August 2014, FMCSA announced that it had retained a neutral convener, and was exploring the possibility of proceeding with a negotiated rulemaking. The convener interviewed stakeholders and recommended proceeding with a negotiated rulemaking. For more information and updates on the Entry-Level Driver Training Advisory Committee, visit http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/ eldtac.

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Upcoming Meetings March 19-20, 2015 Washington Marriott at Metro Center 775 12th St NW Washington, DC

April 23-24, 2015 Crystal City Marriott at Reagan National Airport 1999 Jefferson Davis Highway Arlington, Virginia May 14-15, 2015 Crystal City Marriott at Reagan National Airport 1999 Jefferson Davis Highway Arlington, Virginia May 28-29, 2015 Washington Marriott at Metro Center 775 12th St NW Washington, DC

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In regards to the Motorcoach Marketing program, we love it. So far, we have made the 1000 postcards, and we did some full page handouts. We just got a stand up banner. When I get some time, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be making new rack cards for both offices. We made 500 church theme postcards and 500 in the safety theme. We sent out the church cards through a local mailing company to every church within 50 miles. So far, we have had a great response and 4-5 people booked trips from it. I plan on using the safety ones soon by sending them to our new customers. All of our staff and drivers love the modern design and the finished products. Only one of my staff has watched the videos so far, but we will be working on that next month. So far Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m very happy with the service. It works well and looks great!

Chris Knittel

Owner/General Manager New Mexico Texas Coaches, LLC

We Help Operators Sell More Charters To More People. Easier. Faster. Far More Effective. MotorcoachMarketing.org www.greenazine.com

Tax and Accounting Mistakes

Top 10 Tax and Accounting Mis 44 www.greenazine.com

stakes Cost Companies Billions www.greenazine.com

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With tax season officially underway, many corporate tax and accounting departments are busily preparing for the looming March deadline. Each year, however, tax and accounting mistakes end up costing U.S. businesses billions. In 2013 alone, U.S. businesses accumulated nearly $7 billion in IRS civil penalties stemming incorrectly reporting business income and employment values. Despite a growing reliance on internal tools and technology, the potential for human error and its costly consequences remain. To uncover the most common mistakes plaguing corporate tax and accounting departments today, and find out how those mistakes vary across company size and industries, Bloomberg BNA conducted a survey of 200 in-house tax and accounting professionals, over half of which represent firms with revenues above $1 billion. From technological pitfalls to regulatory confusion, here’s a look at the top ten end-user and tax-and-accounting rule-based mistakes that may be costing your organization.

1. Manually inputting incorrect data into an enterprise system. With the amount of data entry that occurs in most accounting departments, it’s probably not much of a surprise that manually inputting incorrect data is the most common mistake. While the occasionally erroneous spreadsheet cell is inevitable, when left uncaught it can lead to an audit and penalties.

2. Saving a file with corporate

financial or tax data to a personal device. With so many data breaches topping the news, it’s concerning that nearly one in five (18%) professionals reported that employees have saved files with corporate financial or tax data to their potentially unsecured personal device. Companies must stress that saving corporate financial or tax data to personal devices is against company policy and threatens the security of sensitive company data. A leak or hack of such data puts the company’s reputation at risk.

3. Accidentally deleting a custom Excel formula used to calculate corporate tax data. Given that Excel is still used, at least to some extent, at most businesses, it’s not too surprising that errors related to the program made the list. Losing a formula in the program not only throws off your entire data, it can also lead to inaccurate reporting data, and ultimately, penalties. Rather than relying on spreadsheets to complete calculations, whenever possible, companies should opt for an accounting or tax software system that is aimed at serving its specific accounting needs.

networks threatens the company and is strictly against the company policy. If your organization doesn’t already, consider offering employees access to a virtual private network (VPN) to work more safely outside the office.

5. Overriding data in an enterprise system with figures calculated outside of the program. While there are reasons an employee may need to override an enterprise system, doing so opens the doors to a variety of possible errors, including inputting miscalculated data. Such technology-related mistakes often occur when tax and accounting professionals aren’t involved in the planning of ERPs and other new accounting software systems and, therefore, are forced to work around the software to meet their goals. Companies can lower the chance of error by involving the accounting department in the software selection and implementation phase. Companies may also want to require a manager’s approval before an override in the system can be done.

4. Working on a non-secure public Wi-Fi network.

6. Closing the books before all required data has been collected, and 7. Modifying asset information from past years.

While some employees may believe working online at their local coffee shop is harmless, accessing sensitive company information on a public network is a data-security issue. Companies must make it clear to employees that working from a non-secure public Wi-Fi

Mistakes 6 and 7 both involve data, and may reflect a disconnect between the information professionals’ need and what their enterprise systems are capable of providing. A major danger of such process-oriented errors lies in the fact that they can easily be carried

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over yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; worth of records until theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re noticed. Unsurprisingly, asset-intensive industries like manufacturing are more likely to falter with using the most efficient depreciation tables and modifying historical asset information.

8. Incorrectly applying unitary state tax rules, and 9. Failing to keep track of or adhere to city-specific tax regulations. Keeping up with changing tax law and how it varies in your state and city can prove challenging. Nearly one in ten professionals indicated that their firms have incorrectly applied unitary state tax rules and the same amount admitted that their firms failed to track or apply city-specific tax regulations. Such mistakes ultimately cause firms to miss the benefits of local tax incentives.

10. Failing to maximize depreciation by using the most advantageous tables. Confusion over city and state tax rules may cause firms to miss the benefits of specific tax incentives and, in turn, fail to maximize depreciation by using the most advantageous tables. A combination of retaining qualified staff and working with up-to-date accounting software can help elevate mistakes eight through ten. Addressing all of these common errors is an initiative that must begin at the top. Fostering executive awareness and support for tax and accounting operations is critical to ensuring that firms make financial decisions fully

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informed of the tax implications. Recruiting and retaining qualified tax and accounting personnel will also likely decrease the chance of oversights and misjudgments.

Organizations should also periodically identify and address weaknesses within their current accounting practices to help avoid financial risk or reputational damage. With a more robust

approach, businesses can better plan their financial investments and more accurately determine their tax burden.

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An Employee Handbook

HOW TO CREATE AN EMP HANDBOOK PEOPLE WILL WANT TO READ 50 www.greenazine.com

PLOYEE L ACTUALLY

Ask someone to describe a typical employee handbook and you’ll probably hear words like “dry,” “stiff,” and “boring.” Let’s face it, most handbooks aren’t exactly page-turners. They’re documents designed to play defense or, worse yet, a catalog of past workplace problems. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Your employee handbook should be the road map for how to operate within your company—an introduction to your culture and a guide that your employees interact with on a regular basis. If you believe in your company’s vision, policies, and procedures, you should want every employee to read and use them. So here’s an idea: Write an employee handbook your employees will want to read. The handbook is, after all, often the first document a new hire receives, sometimes the only document all employees are required to read and acknowledge, and a document that gets reviewed, revised, and recirculated every year. Seize the opportunity. Here are five strategies for creating an employee handbook that can excite employees and reinforce your culture: 1. CALL IT SOMETHING ELSE Imagine if I had titled this piece: “Reader Article.” Would you have clicked on it? Probably not. Names like “employee handbook” and “staff manual” signal to your employees that the document is going to be long, laborious, and filled with boilerplate. So come up with a new name that engages employees, piques their curiosity, and conveys your company culture right off the bat. Examples can range from conventional (e.g., “Team Guide”) to unconventional (“The Way Things Work” or “Our How-To Book”). 2. START WITH YOUR MISSION Every company should have a mission: the reason why your employees come to your workplace each day, rather than the millions of other workplaces out there. Your mission should engage your employees on both an emotional and intellectual level, establishing an exciting challenge they care about. Start your handbook by telling your employees your company’s mission and values. That will set

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the framework for the rest of your policies and procedures, not only for the reader, but also for you, the drafter. 3. WRITE POLICIES THAT PERSONIFY YOUR COMPANY’S VALUES Building and sustaining a dynamic, engaging, and compelling company culture can be a competitive advantage in any industry. So use your handbook as a platform for helping your employees understand and deliver your culture and values. Rather than copy and paste generic policies into your handbook, personalize them for your company. Explain your policies and your reasons behind them, and do it in a tone that’s consistent with the way you typically speak with your employees. For instance, your dress code policy can articulate the image your company seeks to present internally and to clients. Your job vacancy or performance evaluation policy can explain your company’s commitment to developing employees and promoting from within. And your benefits policy can describe your company’s view on work/life balance. 4. PROMOTE YOUR PERKS Employers, especially small businesses, are getting more and more creative with the benefits and perks they offer. From sabbaticals to employee appreciation to public service to continued learning, employers are finding ways to make the job about more than just the paycheck. If you’ve invested in building programs or perks for employees, include them in your handbook. And don’t bury them deep in your table of contents—put them up front. The rest of the handbook is filled with the expectations you have for your employees and how they are expected to invest in your company. Turn your handbook into a dialogue by telling your employees what they can expect from you, and how you plan to invest in them. 5. DON’T ATTACH IT; PRESENT IT Be creative with how you present your handbook. Skip the PDF. Instead, make it readable and 52 www.greenazine.com

Write an employee handbook your employees will want to read. The handbook is, after all, often the first document a new hire receives, sometimes the only document all employees are required to read and acknowledge. attractive. Print it in color, bind it, or even wrap it with a bow. Plan an annual company event around presenting your handbook for the upcoming year. Or bring it to life with an interactive survey, playful quiz, or a reward in the middle, like a coffee gift card to congratulate employees on their progress. These techniques are lighthearted, but they don’t undermine the value and seriousness of your handbook. To the contrary, they show just how important it is to you and how your policies and practices are embedded within your culture and mission. Your handbook is your employees’ admission ticket to an exclusive club: your company. Present it that way. Employment policies are serious business. But for employees to take them seriously and incorporate them into their daily work, those policies need to be an extension of your culture, not a departure from it. Even companies committed to investing in and building a dynamic culture often only use their handbook as a backstop to minimize risk rather than as a tool to build culture and create value. Take advantage of the opportunity to set your company apart from the crowd with an engaging and authentic employee handbook.

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All Star Sales Forces

3 Best Practices of All-Star Sales Forces (Infographic) How well is your company managing its sales pipeline, and does it really matter? According to new research from Vantage Point Performance and the Sales Management Association, 44 percent of executives surveyed reported that their organizations

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were ineffective at managing their companiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sales pipeline. (The execs were from 62 business-to-business (B-to-B) companies, 39 percent with revenue greater than $1 billion and 37 percent with revenue greater than $250 million.)

This gap in effectiveness may matter more than you think because the research also found that companies reporting effective pipeline management saw revenue grow 15 percent faster than their ineffective peers. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s even more interesting

is that companies that mastered three specific pipeline management practices experienced 28 percent higher revenue growth. Below we’ve outlined what our research pinpointed as those three pipeline management best practices for all-star performers:

1. Clearly define the sales process. At its most basic level, the sales pipeline represents your company’s sales process and how your company tracks progress through each stage of the process.

Pipeline management includes everything from the way the sales pipeline is designed to how it is measured and how it is used to drive sales-rep performance. Without a clearly defined sales process, the pipeline has no foundation. We found that sales forces were most effective at managing their pipelines if they invested time in defining a credible, formalized sales process. In fact, there was an 18 percent difference in revenue growth between companies that defined a formal sales process and those that didn’t. This begs the question -- what specifically does a “formal sales process” mean? For starters, it means having clearly defined stages and milestones universally understood by your salespeople. If your sales team has to guess where a particular deal belongs or how to manage deals in each stage, you likely don’t have a formal sales process. In addition, your sales process should align with how your customers move through their buying process. Don’t fall into the trap of using generic sales processes that may not reflect your customers’ actual buying process. Instead, invest time in developing a unique process that reflects the reality of your sellers, and make sure your sales force understands how to use it.

2. Spend three hours a month on pipeline management. In addition to a solid sales process, our research revealed that companies must also allocate enough time and resources to make pipeline management effective. Companies that spent at least three hours per month managing each rep’s sales pipeline realized 11 percent greater revenue growth than those spending

less than three hours per month. However, success doesn’t depend on just the amount of time spent on pipeline management -- but on how the time is spent. While many sales forces believe they spend a lot of time managing their pipelines, they often, in reality, spend their time creating forecasts, not managing the pipeline. If your pipeline discussions revolve around close dates, probabilities and deal sizes, then you are just forecasting. Period. However, if you spend your time discussing the overall health of your sellers’ pipelines, as well as helping them shepherd more deals to a successful close, you are managing your pipeline productively. The primary focus of a pipeline meeting should be to help reps develop a game plan to move deals forward, not just scrub customer-relationship management (CRM) data and forecasting revenue.

3. Provide pipeline management training. Our research revealed that 61 percent of executives surveyed admitted their sales managers had not been adequately trained in pipeline-management strategies and techniques. This begged the question -- how can we expect our sales managers to do something well when we haven’t prepared them to do it? The payoff for training on pipeline management is tangible. Companies that adequately trained their sales managers saw their revenue grow 9 percent faster than those that didn’t. But not just any training will do. Targeted training to address specific pipeline management challenges, not just generic training on leadership or coaching, is key.

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Most pipeline-management training revolves around technical training on using a CRM system, but what managers really need is training on making better pipeline management decisions -- for instance how to determine the ideal pipeline size for each rep. Managers need to know at what point in the sales process their actions have the biggest impact. They also need to know how to structure pipeline meetings so they enable coaching rather than inspection. These few skills alone can have a significant impact on sales force performance.

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The good news: There are no hidden secrets to effective pipeline management. It all comes down to defining your sales process, allocating the time and resources to pipeline management and then instituting pipeline-management training. Integrate these three best practices in your sales force, and the revenue will follow.

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the sales pipeline represents your companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sales process and how your company tracks progress through each stage of the process.

YOU’RE HEADED FOR SUCCESS. WE’RE FAMILIAR WITH THE ROUTE.

Prevost coaches do more than transport your passengers in style and safety. They move your business forward by giving you the best in dependability, fuel efficiency and support. Our high deck H-Series Coach offers state-of-the-art amenities that elevate every passenger’s experience. Our longer-wheelbase X3-45 Coach combines the smoothest possible ride with a wider entry and 80" high interior passenger space. All Prevost coaches deliver exceptional performance with lower operating costs. Which means they’re as perfect for your business as they are for your passengers.

Please contact your Prevost Regional Sales Manager for more information. USA 1-877-773-8678

CANADA 418-883-3391

www.prevostcar.com

T h e u l t i m a t e c l a s s.

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