In this buyer’s guide, we narrowed the pool from hundreds of recruitment software platforms down to 3 great options for small businesses: Recruiterbox, ZipRecruiter, and SmartRecruiters. We chose to review and compare these 3 systems because they offer the best combination of price and recruiting capabilities for small businesses. Read on for our full review… The post Best Recruitment Software for Small Businesses, 2017 appeared first on . from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/recruitment-software/
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With tight budgets and limited time, small businesses often struggle to stand out against the competition. But with a little innovation and elbow grease, these folks have come up with some pretty inspiring ways to market their businesses. Check out these top 20 small business marketing ideas that will help make your business one to… The post Top 20 Small Business Marketing Ideas from the Pros appeared first on . from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/small-business-marketing-ideas/ As if we weren’t already scrambling to get our paperwork ready in time for tax season, the government has moved up an important deadline that you need to know about as a small business owner. If you have payroll employees or contractors, you are required by law to file either a W-2 form (for full-time employees) or a 1099-MISC (for temporary workers or contractors). But when you file these critical documents has changed, so listen up. The Lowdown on W-2s In the past, you were required to send employees a copy of their W-2s by January 31, but you had until February 28 to send copies to the Social Security Administration. Now you’ve got one deadline for both: January 31. That means that you need to scramble to ensure that all your employee payroll and tax information is accurate, then send them both off in the coming weeks. What About 1099-MISC Forms? If you don’t have employees and instead work with contractors that you have paid more than $600 to this year, you will need to file a 1099-MISC form for each one. You don’t pay payroll taxes on what your contractors earn, because they are responsible for paying them on their personal taxes. But you do need to file the 1099-MISC form, and in 2017, it’s the same deal as with the W-2s: everything is due by January 31. That means not only do you need to send the 1099-MISC form to your contractors, but you also need to submit it to the IRS by then. Why All The Changes? The IRS has not historically been known for expediency, but this tiny change might move it in the right direction. Through the Consolidated Appropriations Act passed by Congress last year, the IRS has been approved to have one day for all parties (IRS, Social Security, and your employees or contractors) to receive these forms. That means the IRS has serious potential to reduce the number of “suspicious” returns, which, of course, take them time to process. When a taxpayer files a return and that W-2 is already in the system, the IRS can quickly verify the information on the tax return against that form and process it faster. So in an ideal world, that would mean fewer audits for taxpayers like you and me! How to Get Those Forms Ready The easiest way to prepare W-2 or 1099-MISC forms is to use a payroll service provider like ADP. Many of these companies will automatically generate these reports using the data you’ve submitted for payroll. They’ll even mail or email them to your employees as well as the appropriate federal offices. Be aware that your service provider may charge an extra fee for this. (It all depends on the number of employees or contractors you have). Alternately, you can go through an online filing service like 1099 Online. For a small fee per 1099-MISC, they’ll file the forms on your behalf to all parties. Typically, the more forms you need to file, the less you’ll pay. So prices range from about $.55 each to $3.49 each. You’ll need to know how much you paid contractors, as well as their social security numbers or tax ID numbers. You can file your employee W-2s online directly with the Social Security Administration. All you need is an account and your employee’s information. And the IRS has a system for you to file your 1099-MISC, though it’s a little less user-friendly than some of the other options. You may need to wait to receive a password in the mail, so you’ll need plenty of time if you choose this option. And if you prefer to go old school, you can always print the forms from the IRS and SSA and mail them in! However, if you file your forms, make sure you put a reminder on your calendar on January 1 so you have plenty of time to do so. Cut Down on Your Tax Time Stress There’s no benefit in waiting until the last minute to prepare your W-2 and 1099-MISC forms, so do what you can now to prep for 2017. Make sure that you accountant or bookkeeper is on top of it or if you are a DIY with your accounting, make sure you’ve logged all expenses you’ve accrued with contractors, and if you don’t have their contact information and social security or tax ID numbers, now is the time to gather that information. Having an updated W-9 on file is the best way to ensure you have this, so plan to require a new one from each contractor come January. Likewise, for employees, make sure you have updated information as well. Ideally, you’re having new hires fill out a W-4 as soon as you onboard them, but if that has slipped through the cracks, have them fill one out before the year’s end so that you’re ready to roll in January. The new change shouldn’t be too stressful if you plan ahead and mark the date on your calendar! The post IRS Tax Alert: The Deadline for W-2s and 1099s Has Moved Up appeared first on Succeed As Your Own Boss. from http://succeedasyourownboss.com/irs-tax-alert-deadline-w-2s-1099s-moved/ 75% of customers agree a professional email address is key to building trust with a small business, according to GoDaddy. In an era where consumers are increasingly wary of scams, it’s the least you can do to get off on the right foot. While we can all agree [email protected] isn’t going to land you many… The post The 3 Rules to Choosing a Professional Email Address appeared first on . from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/professional-email-address/ In this guide to employee performance reviews, we will walk you through everything you need to know to set up and administer performance reviews for your team, including a free performance review template, as well as the following: Free Performance Review Template Performance Review Scoring Systems How Do I Give Performance Reviews? What Should I… The post Employee Performance Reviews Guide, with Free Template & Examples appeared first on . from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/performance-reviews-template-examples/ Need more patients for your dental practice? We’ve compiled a list of the top 25 dental marketing ideas the pros use to drive more traffic to their practice. We’ve divided our list into the following categories: Getting Found Online Referrals & Building a Client Base Offline Marketing Ideas Building Your Brand Social Media Mastery Use… The post 25 Dental Marketing Ideas The Pros Use appeared first on . from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/dental-marketing-ideas/ Depending on how much work you are willing to do yourself, and how customized you want your website to be, you could spend anywhere from $0 to $10,000+ on a new or revamped website. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the different options you have to build your website, and how much each of… The post How Much Does A Website Cost? appeared first on . from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/website-costs/ After reviewing several lenders that provide fast business loans, Kabbage was the best and fastest overall. They have a paperless application, can get you funds on the same day, and have a very high approval rate. In this article, we review Kabbage along with two other leading fast business lenders: Bond Street and SmartBiz. While… The post Best Places to Get Fast Business Loans appeared first on . from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/fast-business-loans/ If you want your event to be a success, you must market it in creative ways to ensure that you get plenty of attendees in the door. Not only that, but you also want to be engaged with your customers before, during, and after the event in order to maintain the relationship. Finally, you want… The post Top 25 Event Marketing Ideas The Pros Use appeared first on . from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/event-marketing-ideas/ Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9 pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Suzanne Paling of Sales Management Services has over 25 years of experience in sales management consulting and coaching, helping companies in all industries improve their sales performance and processes. For more information, visit: www.salesmanagementservices.com. SmallBizLady: WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON SALES MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS YOU SEE? S.Paling: The 15 most common sales management problems I see in my consulting practice include: The Inconsistent Sales Rep, Selling Only to Existing Customers, Social Media Paralysis, Salesperson Fiefdom, Trouble with Titles, CRM Non-Compliance, The Mysterious Remote Rep, Unethical Behavior, Misaligned Territories, The Selling Sales Manager, The Superstar Sales Manager, Loosely Defined Sales Cycle, The Mediocre Rep, Unqualified Vice President of Sales, and High Base Salary. SmallBizLady: WHAT IS THE HARDEST CHALLENGE A SALES MANAGER FACES? S.Paling: Regularly, I see really strong salespeople get promoted to a sales leadership position, receive little or no training, and then just be expected to do their job. They put in long hours, trying to figure out what to do. Often they just don’t know how to go about solving some of the most common sales staff problems. As they progress in their career, especially if they work for smaller sized companies, they don’t have any type of mentor with sales management experience. They need guidance on handling a tricky issue and wish they had a toll free number for a sales management hotline so they could talk to someone about it. SmallBizLady: WHY DON’T COMPANIES OFFER SALES MANAGERS TRAINING? S.Paling: Sales training gets put in the budget, sales management training does not. Most sales managers are either former superstar salespeople or solid producers. Company presidents assume that this salesperson is segueing into a similar position and if they were good at sales they will be good at sales management. They’ll figure things out. They don’t need training. The problem with that thinking is that the sales management position has almost nothing in common with being a salesperson. It’s a totally different job. SmallBizLady: WHAT ARE THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A SALES REP AND A SALES MANAGER? S.Paling: A sales representative works for the customer, is an individual contributor tasked with an individual revenue goal. They call on and regularly advocate for customers, get along reasonably well with their peers and use resources to make themselves successful. Conversely, a sales manager works for the company, accomplishes goals through others, is tasked with a group revenue goal, accompanies sales reps on customer visits, upholds company policies and procedures, has hire/fire power over reps and provides resources to make reps successful. SmallBizLady: HOW DO SALES LEADERS ATTEMPT TO SOLVE PROBLEMS? S.Paling: Sales leaders have a “heart to heart” with a rep about a problem. The rep improves for a period of time, the sales manager gets busy, the rep reverts to their old behavior and they’re back to where they started. The other reps see this happen, they start taking the manager less seriously and a culture of non-accountability develops. SmallBizLady: WHAT PREVENTS THEM FROM SOLVING THE PROBLEM? S.Paling: Busy answering 300 emails, sitting in endless meetings, and getting bogged down with all the data in the CRM system, they have limited time to do their main job – working with and coaching the reps. It takes time and ability they don’t have to address a problem with rep. Then you have the hiring dilemma. Right now, there’s a shortage of good salespeople. If they address the problem with a rep, the rep might read the writing on the wall and quit. Or if the rep doesn’t improve, the sales leader might have to terminate their employment. Then the sales leader has to replace them. How many weeks or months will that take? What if they can’t find a suitable replacement? The sales leader decides that putting up with the rep might be the better option SmallBizLady: WHY DO THEY KEEP HOPING THINGS WILL CHANGE? S.Paling: If the company has a decent product, good benefits and a lucrative compensation plan, many managers feel like that should be motivation enough. Here is your quota. I hired you with the understanding that you want to make a lot of money. Now go do what’s necessary to bring the sales revenue in. They hope the rep will wake up, realize what a good situation they have and start doing what’s necessary to make quota. SmallBizLady: WHAT CAN A BUSINESS OWNER DO IN ADVANCE TO MINIMIZE PROBLEMS WITH REPS? S.Paling: Business owners and sales leaders need to have a plan in place before they hire their first or an additional rep. Prior to the rep’s start date, figure out new hire orientation, product training, minimum performance standards and quotas. Think about how you will handle issues like missing quota or not doing any prospecting before they show up on day one. Any pre-work you put in makes handling problems much easier from the start. The rep understands the expectations and you are ready to take corrective action if necessary. SmallBizLady: CAN YOU GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF A PROBLEM YOU HELP SALES MANAGERS SOLVE? S.Paling: In one chapter, I talk about the mediocre rep, the one who always just makes quota, year in and year out, while others experience 20 – 40% increases or better. How do you handle that situation? First, get the facts: Compare their performance to the group average. If the group average is 116% of quota and they come in at 101%, determine how much money their territory loses every quarter. Next, solve the problem yourself first. What would you do if no one could tell you no. In this case the sales leader determines that if a sales rep goes two months or two quarters in a row (depending on the length of your sales cycle) they will go on probation. I then recommend leaders show the plan to their direct supervisor. Sell them on it. Present some charts and graphs. Work together to address the issue. Compromise with them if need be. Once that work is completed, the sales leader can approach the rep about the problem. Put a timeline on solving the problem. Give the rep all the support they need, but let them know they have to be performing at a certain level by a certain date or you will have to put them on probation. SmallBizLady: HOW SHOULD SALES LEADERS SPEAK WITH THE REP ABOUT THE PROBLEM? S.Paling: Make no attempt to solve the problem during that initial conversation. Approach the first meeting with the idea of doing a lot of listening. Ask open-ended questions and hear what reps have to say. Show them the information that you’ve put together and encourage them to look it over for a day or two. Schedule a follow-up meeting during the first meeting. During subsequent meetings, offer the rep your full support. Provide the time and resources necessary for them to show improvement. But put a timeline on solving the problem. Let them know they have to be performing at a certain level by a certain date or you will have to put them on probation. SmallBizLady: IS THERE ANYTHING A SALES LEADER CAN SAY OR DO TO LESSEN THE TENSION DURING THESE MEETINGS? S.Paling: On some level, this rep isn’t meeting company expectations. That’s a tough thing for anyone to hear. Think about any contributions this rep has made to the sales effort, big or small, and mention them during the meetings. They will remember and appreciate the gesture. SmallBizLady: WHAT DO SALES LEADERS NEED TO UNDERSTAND TO BE SUCCESSFUL? S.Paling: Managing sales people means sitting in judgement. You have to be able to hold reps accountable and take appropriate action when goals aren’t met. Some people find that concept very difficult to deal with. If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9 pm ET; follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/1hZeIlz The post How To Avoid Sales Management Mistakes in Your Small Business appeared first on Succeed As Your Own Boss. from http://succeedasyourownboss.com/avoid-sales-management-mistakes-small-business/ |
AuthorHello I am Teri Crawford 26 years old living in Toronto, Canada. I have recently finished my MBA and planning to start my own business. Archives
November 2018
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