Costco Connection - February 2011

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PAUL AND SARAH EDWARDS: LIFESTYLES FOR THE MILLENNIUM

Using social media to collect debt ;lled with pictures of new cars, second homes and expensive toys. Pointing out the contradictory information can encourage the debtor to pay up. If you don’t know what the person who owes you money looks like, you, like process servers, can use photos people have posted to identify a debtor.To determine which social networking site to use, business owners need to examine their customer base to discover where they’re likely to hang out. For example, customers 30 or younger may be on MySpace or Facebook; businesses are more apt to be found on LinkedIn, but business owners may use Facebook for their personal life.Pe rhaps the best part of the information you get on social media sites, including dates of birth, e-mail addresses, mailing addresses, names of relatives, employers and where they are located, is that it is free, aside from the time you spend looking for it—which does not need to be a lot. Dunn says, “For one or two hours a week, you can obtain information that in the past you might have needed to hire a skip tracer to ;nd.” One caution: Do not use social media sites to let the world know someone is a deadbeat. Dunn agrees it’s unethical to pretend to befriend a debtor in order to get information. She thinks this will soon be illegal, but even so it’s not appropriate to use instant messaging as a means of communi- cating about a customer’s debt. C Paul and Sarah Edwards ( www.elmstreeteconomy.com ) are the co-authors of a new edition of Home-Based Business for Dummies and 16 other books.

MARY ANN HALPIN PHOTOGRAPY

JANUARY 2011 ;e Costco Connection 11 ANN’S COMPANY needs a website. Bill and Janet, website designers, each want Ann as a client. Bill introduces himself by handing Ann a business card and an expensive brochure. Janet hands Ann a business card and her latest book on building great websites. Who made the better first impression? Costco member Lonnie Pacelli, a business consultant and president of Leading on the Edge International ( www.leadingonedge.com/ publish), shares this scenario in defense of a novel marketing concept. “Self-publishing these days is both easy and economical,” says Pacelli. “I’ve spent as little as $60 to write, publish and sell a book on Amazon, Kindle, Sony and iPad in two months or so. In addition to adding reve- nue, your book solidifies you as a subject-matter

HERE’S A BOOK that was never intended to be read—that is, from cover to cover— according to the author, Dr.

Suzanne Turner. ;e premise is that managers just don’t have the time to read full business books.

;is one, ;e Little Black Book of Management: Essential Tools for Getting Results NOW

(McGraw-Hill, 2010), is a small reference book designed to give quick recaps on management concerns, such as business ethics, customer focus, time management, brainstorming, communications, team building, international etiquette and more, for those who either never had a formal business training or whose credentials are gathering dust.

Under “Five Whys,” for instance, Turner shares these steps to get to the root cause of a problem:

 Clearly de;ne the problem or opportunity to be tackled.

 Ask the group “why?” and capture the responses.

 Continue to ask why until no more answers can be given.

 Use the answers to identify actions that need to be taken.

Turner, a Costco member, who owns and manages Potenza, (Turner calls the exercise “Five Whys” but o;ers only four, leaving the ;;h for you to add your own.)

To get a copy of ;e Little Black Book, go to www.mh professional.com and search “Suzanne Turner.” C

The essential little black book

expert, which means more customers. With a little diligence and creativity you can set your- self apart from your competition and wow your clients.” Pacelli offers these tips to keep in mind: Avoid the scams. Watch for people who will gladly take big bucks from you to publish your book for you. Don’t do it; it’s a rip-off. Treat each word as if you’re spending a dollar. Just like you, potential customers are very busy and want information quickly. Be ultra-concise with your words. No blathering. Find trusted reviewers. Ask a few people to review your manuscript and provide blunt and direct feedback. The truth may hurt, but you’ll have a better product in the end. Use an editor. You can have the best ideas in the world, but if it’s a grammatical night- mare your credibility will go down the tubes. Commission a cool cover. Books do get judged by their covers. Enlist a cover designer who knows what he or she is doing. Pacelli adds, “Fortify your marketing arsenal with your self-published book and your bottom line will love you.” C

FEBRUARY 2011 ;e Costco Connection 11

Boost your business with books

CREDIT INVESTIGATORS, bill collectors, process servers and other professionals are ;nding Facebook and other social media, such as MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn, to be a real boon to their business.

People say a lot about their lives on social media, which is how these sites can be used to determine if an individual or a company is credit-worthy or, when they are in arrears, to get a bead on whether they can pay their bills in these tough times. Michelle Dunn, author of Getting Paid Using Social Media

( michelledunn.com), says, “Social media sites can be
used to verify information by con;rming if what they
say on the phone is the same as what they post.”
It’s common for people to make posts about
whether they have gotten a raise, been ;red or are
planning to change jobs, and such information is
grist for credit checks. Says Dunn, “A debtor who
claims to be out of work posting a photo of himself
living the high life on a boat” lets you know if you
as a creditor are getting the real story. Similarly,
collection agencies love to peruse photo buckets