Book Excerpt - Start With the Answer by Bob Seelert

Leading in Tough Times
By Bob Seelert,
Author of Start with the Answer: And Other Wisdom for Aspiring Leaders

The financial crisis that began in 2008 continues to unfold in unprecedented ways, thereby presenting business leaders with incredible challenges. How does one manage in such a crisis-laden environment? Here are "Ten Things To Do" based on my 40+ years in business.

#1 -- Get the truth out on the table. You need to begin with an open, honest, candid assessment of the facts. Sometimes the truth can be ugly, but you're not in a position to deal with it until you get it out on the table. Making unrealistic assumptions only will prompt inaction, with things getting worse before they get better. Get out in front of the problem.

#2 -- Establish standards for the new reality. When markets collapse, you can't be sure how far they will fall, but you can establish an expectation for how your company will perform relative to whatever happens. At Saatchi & Saatchi, even though our revenue may be down year to year, we expect to outperform the market by 50%. This sets a high standard for our people. We also recognize that there will be margin pressures, but we expect to "draw the line" at X%", in order to preserve our financial profile for the future. This implies tight management of costs at the same time we aim to outperform the market.

#3 -- Think long term; Act short term. Downturns in the economy present the opportunity for far-sighted companies to go for share of market. Inevitably, some of your competitors will pull back when times get tough. Take advantage of this to position your enterprise to gain when the inevitable market rebound takes place.

#4 -- Communicate, communicate, communicate. This is the time to increase the frequency of your internal communications and heighten your personal presence in front of the organization. People are understandably nervous and sometimes scared during uncertain times. Now is the opportunity to rally the troops and give them reassurance that your company will be out in front in dealing with what needs to be done.

#5 -- Get "All hands on deck." Tough times call for extraordinary efforts on the part of every employee. You can't get the job done alone. Now is the time to enlist every person in doing whatever must be done to ensure survival and prosperity. Outhustling your competition is the surest path to gaining share of market.

#6 -- Get out with customers. Heightening your interaction with customers will keep you tuned in to their needs and give you constant feedback regarding where the environment is headed. Meeting customer needs and exceeding expectations are the two sure pathways to success.

#7 -- Stay true to what made you great in the first place. Most high performing companies got that way for a reason. Now is not the time to lose sight of this. Toyota has achieved success in the U.S. car market through innovation and continuous improvement. Despite the current downtrend in auto sales, they are innovating by introducing the Venza, and putting into the marketplace the third generation improvement for the Prius. These are the kind of actions that will keep them out in front.

#8 -- Reframe value for the new environment. Marketers should reassess their messages for relevance in the current economic conditions. Tide always has been the best laundry detergent, but in this environment, it doesn't hurt to remind consumers that its color integrity feature keeps new clothes looking new longer. For Olay it's relevant to mention that the cost of Olay pales in comparison to more invasive or surgical procedures.

#9 -- Add/Reduce; Create/Eliminate. Despite the economy, it's likely that your company needs to add some new positions and create some new capabilities in order to meet the demands of the marketplace. You should press ahead in these areas, but you need to have the organization simultaneously thinking about how it reduces and eliminates things as well. Tough times force trade-offs.

#10 -- Set tight priorities. Now, more than ever, is the time to set tight priorities. Decide what is core, and what is non-core, and focus your time and attention on the critical few things that will make a difference.

Tough times can bring out the best in organizations and prompt actions that will position your company for future success. Follow these ten things and you will do well.


©2009 Bob Seelert, author of Start with the Answer: And Other Wisdom for Aspiring Leaders
Author Bio
Bob Seelert, author of Start with the Answer: And Other Wisdom for Aspiring Leaders, is Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi, a leading global ideas and advertising company. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School, he has been CEO of five companies, has built brands and businesses, been a party to two mega-mergers, and enacted numerous turnarounds. He has served on boards of directors of companies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. He lives in New Canaan, Connecticut.

For more information please visit www.StartwiththeAnswer.com

PLR Health Wizard Hires Greg Hoffman Consulting as its Affiliate Program Management Firm

Greg Hoffman Consulting, an internet marketing firm specializing in affiliate, paid search and online public relations management, has been hired by PLR Health Wizard to recruit and activate new affiliates into its existing affiliate program for private label rights health, wellness and fitness niche content.

PLR Health Wizard chose Greg Hoffman Consulting to manage its affiliate base because of his prior experience with large e-Commerce merchants and his newly acquired affiliate manager certification from Lurn, Inc. Gail Trahd, President of PLR Health Wizard, was looking for an experienced and knowledgeable affiliate program manager to tackle her program expansion for 2009. She chose to search in Lurn's AC Certified "Who is Certified" database and found Hoffman, who earned his certificate in May 2009.

Trahd said, "I need someone who can motivate and energize my affiliates that have been part of my program for the last two years. I also need someone that has the connections and experience to recruit new affiliates into the program as we continuously add new health, wellness and fitness content. Our customers love our PLR content and our partners can benefit greatly by finding new and unique ways to market our products."

Hoffman said, "I'm very happy my certification paid off so quickly and I'm looking forward to working with super affiliates and PLR affiliates. I'm positive we can find more super affiliates to pick up the program and target relevant customers in need of health and wellness content for newsletters, blogs and multi-media marketing communications."

The PLR Health Wizard affiliate program uses Amember for its membership platform and starts affiliates at 40% recurring commission. Products range from $39.97 to $59.97. Trahd has generously set a lifetime cookie duration so affiliates can continually reap the benefits. Conversion has averaged near 4% since the program began nearly two years ago, she added.

Hoffman will be engaging affiliates by blog, phone, email, instant message and in-person at industry conventions throughout the next year. Hoffman will be working with affiliates on program-side training, helping them learn the PLR Health Wizard products and motivating them to perform at higher levels.

PLR Health Wizard is written and owned by Gail Trahd, a retired/former Nurse Practitioner. The health, wellness and fitness content provided can be used for ezines, newsletters, special reports, podcasts, and videos or inserted in private ebooks. Customers are also provided with illustrations to enhance the content as well as access to internet marketing tools to help them monetize the content. Visit PLR Health Wizard for more information: http://www.plr-health-wizard.com.

Greg Hoffman Consulting is an internet marketing firm with extensive experience in affiliate program management, as well as paid search management and online public relations. Hoffman recently obtained his Certified Affiliate Manager professional certificate from Lurn.com. He has previously managed affiliate and paid search programs for programs such as Thompson Cigar, Linensource, Casual Living USA, Café Belmondo, eBeanstalk and others. Visit Greg Hoffman for more information.

eBeanstalk.com Hires Greg Hoffman Consulting as Their Affiliate Program Management Firm

Greg Hoffman Consulting, a newly formed internet marketing firm specializing in affiliate, paid search and online public relations management, has been hired by eBeanstalk.com to recruit and activate new affiliates into its ShareASale Affiliate Network program.

eBeanstalk.com chose Greg Hoffman Consulting to communicate with affiliates on a daily basis because of his extensive relationships with existing and future eBeanstalk affiliates in the ShareASale network. Hoffman has managed multiple e-Commerce merchants in all the top affiliate networks over the last five years.
Brian Gordon, President of eBeanstalk.com said "My decision was a simple one as I know Greg has a firm grasp on our vision of affiliate management. We need to nurture our relationships and look for new ways to market our learning and educational toys online, especially our niche line of baby gifts."

Greg Hoffman says "I'm honored Brian has chosen me to represent his brand as eBeanstalk's affiliate program manager. I look forward to picking up the phone and talking with super affiliates that can immediately provide unique content and promotions for the eBeanstalk affiliate program."

The high-converting toy affiliate program with ShareASale started in April 2007 and currently has a 30-day EPC of more than $8. Its holiday conversion rate is typically close to a healthy 5%. Starting commission for affiliates is 5% but eBeanstalk is looking for strategic partners to take advantage of higher private commissions, Gordon said. The program also has a 45-day affiliate cookie, monthly newsletter and a full product datafeed (Popshops available).

Hoffman will be engaging affiliates by blog, phone, email, instant message and in-person at industry conventions throughout the next year. Hoffman will be working with affiliates on program side training, helping them learn the eBeanstalk brand, the products and motivating them to perform at higher levels, he said.

eBeanstalk provides products that promote a child's development and offers visitors expert information on newborn toys, baby toys, toddler toys and preschooler toys. The group of experts include: a child psychologist, speech pathologist, child physical therapist, pediatric occupational therapist, special educator and more than 700 moms - called the Mother Board. The team has carefully selected, tested and approved more than 600 toys.

Greg Hoffman Consulting is an internet marketing firm with extensive experience in affiliate program management, as well as paid search management and online public relations. Hoffman recently obtained his Certified Affiliate Manager professional certificate from Lurn.com. He has previously managed affiliate and paid search programs for programs such as Thompson Cigar, Linensource, Casual Living USA, Café Belmondo, Shock Coffee and others. Visit http://www.GregHoffmanConsulting.com for more information.