Human Resource Management and Consulting Services of Greater Atlanta, LLC is a private consulting firm that provides human resources management consulting services to businesses which include schools, non-profit, service and product industry, Human Resource Management and Consulting Services of Greater Atlanta, LLC 3855 Oakview Drive Suite 300, Powder Springs,GA 30127 Phone:4049848757 Website: www.hr-mcs.com Email: drnixonhr@gmail.com ...read more

BDH Events is growing with special events this month   Marketing for the MBA Expo - September 1 Planning and Marketing for the Hosanna Resources "Vineyard Community Service Information Day" on Saturday, September 25 in College Park, GA Two Fantastic Weddings beautified by our custom floral designs Arrangements sent to the State Capitol Building as a part of Catering by Capozzi display Joining with Angel's Catering for fresh flower arrangements for upcoming Atlanta Chamber of Commerce luncheon Our fresh flower clients save more than 30% on event flowers everyday.   ...read more

The Brown Bag Better Business Basics Series has started and if you missed the class on "Accounting Basics for Non-financial managers" or "Marketing on a Shoestring" then call or email us to request a repeat class. Below is just one testimonial from the class. Bonnie: Kudos to you and John for coming up with such a clever efficient and  inexpensive way to educate small business owners! I loved your  Marketing on a Shoestring class—you covered a lot of bases and still  left me wanting more. Your "pick and choose" class option is also  right on the money. Certainly for someone starting a business, they  shouldn't miss a single classes! Rhonda Weisberg Juggling Cat Design We would like say thank you to Rhonda. Our next class will be the Four Corners of Better Business on Feb 24, 2010 from 11:00 am until 12:30 PM. The class will be conducted by John Hall and introduce new business owners to the various check and balances need in every business to sustain and grow that business profitably. Participants will learn about various red flags to watch in their business, what areas to measure, how to track their operations success and how to track and succeed with their sales and marketing.  Helpful materials and tools will be provided. You may sign up at our website:www.rightstepsbusiness.com ...read more

Did you have a disaster plan in place for your Atlanta business when the rains struck?  With all of the challenges that businesses go through to get off the ground in general, one area that often gets overlooked is disaster prevention and recovery.  Coming from Florida, where you have the annual reminder of hurricane season, it gets more attention, but it's still something that needs to be reviewed regularly. There are many things that are easy to overlook.  The fact that the Cobb county, Paulding county, Fulton county, Gwinnett county and Douglas county schools (and probably more) got shut down the next day is a major challenge for many parents that rely on the school to handle their childcare for at least part of the day.  As fun as "snow days" can be for kids, for adults that have to worry about opening a shop and/or making sure the show can go on, especially when thrown a curve ball of having to come up with last-minute child care, these scenarios are far from fun.  Was that part of your recovery plan? Will it be moving forward?Here are a few things to think about.  I'd love to hear your suggestions:What happens to orders that can't get out / materials get through?How do you let your clients know what's happening as quickly as possible?Are your computer files all backed up off location?Can people work from home?Is your data too sensitive to allow for people to set up remotely?Where can you set up remotely?Do you need additional insurance coverage for lost inventory / orders / property damage?Does your policy allow for employees to care for their families in a timely manner?What are the specific steps necessary to come back on line and is it documented and rehearsed?Who will be your first responders and go-to people that you have informed of this role and can rely on?How much will the lost time cost you and how long can you stand to lose?You can also have contingency plans for your job and family, even if you don't run a business.  Knowing what you'll do at the time helps reduce stress and get you back on track as quickly as possible.  If you need more suggestions on setting up a disaster prevention / recovery plan, please call our office at 770-912-8774 ...read more

When in an Atlanta area Kroger the other day, I was reminded about an important sales training point that I wanted to pass along.  You may have heard the old expression, "Sell the sizzle, not the steak."  While you might think this was inspired by a trip through the meat section, I was actually looking at a Hallmark ad on my way out of the store.  The ad was very simple.  There was a picture of a happy woman holding a greeting card with the text: Smiles...  $.99.  Hallmark's team remembered the sizzle.  It's never really so much about a product, as much as it is about what that product does and the emotional response that it creates for the user. To borrow a few examples from other trainers like Zig Ziglar and Anthony Robbins:No one wants a drill, but they love the hole.No one wants those ugly green boots, but they love dry feet.No one wants to pay the insurance premium, but they love peace of mind when something goes wrong.How does this translate to your products and services?  Are you reminding people of the benefits they get from working with you and your products?  If you need help with developing your benefit statements, ask about our $97 June sales training coaching session promotion.  Call 770-912-8774 today. Keep this tip in mind when you talk to your prospects and/or put your next presentation together. ...read more

While working in Twitter.com tonight, I read a post from an Atlanta home inspector.  He stumbled across another blog from a realtor in TX that did a wonderful job of walking us through the experiences that her customer, a first time home buyer, had with her. She started by telling about how the people wanted a pool and actually showed a picture of the house that they settled on.  Then she talked about the financing and even had a picture of the couple at the closing table with the loan officer.  From there she took us to the couple actually parking in the driveway, getting out with the sold sign (she had a couple of these) and then had them hugging in the end.  She included a written testimonial from the couple, who were thrilled.  What was so great about this is that she didn't have to write a lot, but rather used the pictures to really tell the emotion of the story.  You could see the calm at the closing office, the excitement when they held up the keys to the house and the "Sold" sign and the joy when they were hugging at the end.  She let their expressions tell the story that anyone who has ever been fortunate enough to purchase a home feels. I'll bet that your realtor wasn't as smart as this one, documenting the whole process and then leveraging the experience.  If your business lends itself to this type of presentation, then consider putting one together as soon as possible.  If not, how can you use the principles outlined there to let your customers do your selling?  Just make sure you get the client's permission to do so, without additional compensation if possible.  If you'd like to improve your sales presentations and/or marketing materials, feel free to call our office.  The next 10 people that call in will get free review of up to 3 marketing pieces or sales presentation (not to exceed 16 total pages of review) at no cost.  Call 770-912-8774 today to get your FREE review and see how we can help you improve your marketing results for less and increase your sales. Follow us on www.Twitter.com/AtlBizConsult. ...read more

1 Thing I’ll Do in the Next Month to Improve My Business   When a group of business owners was asked what they could and would do in the next 30 days to improve their business, here is a list of what they said. Hopefully this will provide you with some inspiration to take some action in your own business to help you get to the next level.    How do you eat an elephant? - One bite at a time!    Set up a shopping cart on my web site for consumable products beyond Atlanta. Join the local Atlanta business associations (and attend the meetings regularly). Drop off business cards to offices of strategic partners. Consistently use classified ads. Cut loose the prospects that aren’t taking action to reduce the clutter. Offer seminars for my target clients. Attend more business networking groups to find strategic partners. Mail postcards to a new target area. Develop a targeted marketing campaign. Finish updating my web site. Start an in-home “party” program to offer individual services to groups. Set up more face-to-face meetings with existing and potential clients. Learn more about how to use Twitter.com or other social media in my business. Find additional sales people to work for me on commission (1099 contractor). Take a class to learn more about pertinent computer software for my business. Get involved with local partners in education program. (This is where you put in your answer!) Running an Atlanta business (or anywhere for that matter) can be very overwhelming. One way to be more productive is to pick one thing and follow it through to completion. Write it down. Keep it in front of you and review it daily, or even several times a day to keep it top of mind.    When you get it done, check it off your list and celebrate your accomplishment. Then pick the next item that you want to tackle and get started. More is accomplished through motion than meditation.   If you need help with any of the ideas stated above, Hollner Promotions is available to assist business owners with developing and implementing strategies to move their business forward and personal coaching to help them make sense of their decisions.    Call the office today at 770-912-8774 to schedule one of 10 monthly FREE consultations to review your current business goals to see what is possible for you in the next 30-90 days. Follow Hollner Promotions onwww.Twitter.com/ATLBizConsultfor more business insights and FREE trainings and/or visit our services page at www.HollnerPromos.com. ...read more

Wouldn't it be nice to turn your birthday into a big payday?  As I prepare for my birthday here in Atlanta, I wanted to share some insights that other smart marketers have known for years, so much that it's often the topic of promotional product magazines.  When you get creative with your marketing, that could easily be possible.  Here are a couple great things about birthdays and marketing that you may want to consider for 2009 (if it's not already too late for this year!) 1.Birthdays get people's attention because we are taught birthday behavior from a young age.  Most people enjoy warm wishes on their birthday, so they are likely to play along with any festivities, even if they don't know you.    Think about the last time you were at a restaurant and started singing along to "Happy Birthday" (or at least clapped and cheered at the end) for the complete stranger at the table next to you. 2. People equate birthdays with parties and celebrations.  Most people are initially curious about what kind of party you are going to have to help you celebrate, as a means of getting ideas for their own party or just to see who else will be there.  Creating curiosity is typically a very strong marketing technique to engage people to look deeper. 3. People tend to be in a giving mood.  Whether to engender future reciprocity or just to say thank you for your contributions to them in the past, birthday presents are an easy way to recognize people.  Back to the idea of celebration, people usually like to help you with this process.  Gifts are often cause for celebration! 4.  Birthdays make a good excuse to celebrate in general.  Smart marketers have long used famous people's birthdays as their "reason why" to make certain offers.  President's Day is a good example, considering it commemorates the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln, and has been the focus of many a sale in the past.  Tying something in your offer to something the customer would associate with the person having the birthday can make it that much more powerful! 5. It helps you remind people that you are around. The hardest thing for any business is to stay top of mind and be remembered by their clients.  With thousands of marketing messages bombarding our brain daily, business owners need every advantage they can get to be remembered.  Depending on the timing, that could be very important. 6. Gives you a chance to give back. Smart restaurants for years have been very inviting to birthday clients.  Free drinks, meals, desserts are common place.  Denny's used to use their birthday program as part of the national television advertising.  When you give something back for a person's birthday, it helps them feel even better about you.  I've had several people tell me that I was the only person that sent them a birthday card in years past.  In my case, I'm going to take a cue from the Japanese.  In Japan, where I did a study abroad program in college, it is customary for the birthday boy or girl to give out the present to the party visitors instead of the other way around from the west.  I'm still working out the details for this year, but it will probably involve a list of common sales mistakes for you to review for your own sales improvement and a significant discount on my sales training course for people with no formal sales background. If you'd like to get on the list for my birthday gift to you, please call the Atlanta office at 770-912-8774 or follow me onwww.Twitter.com/atlbizconsult.   I hope you will consider how you can use your birthday and maybe even other people's birthdays to grow your business this coming year!  If this has inspired you, please give us some feedback and consider scheduling an appointment to review your business, marketing and/or sale processes in general.  There's a lot more where this came from.  Ask about our referral bonus program to earn extra cash or FREE training. ...read more

As an Atlanta based business coach, goal achieving is a big part of what we do with clients.  We’re about two weeks into 2009. Are you still pursuing your New Year’s resolutions? I hope so. Perhaps a more important question is, are you using your clients’ resolutions to get more business? If not, that window is slowly closing, so you’ll want to get on it.   The reason resolutions can be very powerful is because they point out an immediate gap in where your customer is and where they want to be. This can create three specific opportunities for you in business. The first one, using your products / services to close that gap and help them in their quest is the most obvious, but not always the most practical. For example, what does cleaning carpets have to do with losing weight? Generally, not a whole lot, except that the person may want to do some floor exercises and they want clean carpet to exercise on. That’s a bit of a stretch (no pun intended).    Even if you don’t see the immediate connection between the top resolutions, which are normally lose weight, get organized and improve career / business / finances, the other two ways will have you asking your clients and strategic partner’s what their resolutions are and if they’re still sticking with them. The second reason is that you may be able to introduce them to a contact that CAN assist them. This helps you strengthen your network and hopefully will engender reciprocity in the future that grows YOUR business.    The third way is that you might be able to do some quick research for them and/or pass along articles or information that you randomly come across in your reading / travels. Whether print or electronic, this is a great way to get your clients’ attention, especially if it has nothing to do with your business. This helps you to build that personal connection that so many people are craving and don’t normally get from big business or many businesses for that matter. This also gives you another marketing touch to help spur on more referrals and possible additional sales.   If you need help achieving the goals you've set for yourself this year, call the office and share your resolutions.  Ask about our Atlanta business coaching, job seeker support meeting, professional organizer contacts and weight loss experts (with varying degrees of involvement and money required).  Call 770-912-8774 today for more details.  Here's to your success in 2009. ...read more

Are you worthy of your New Year’s Resolutions?   While at church in Marietta, GA a few weeks back, we had a discussion on John 3:16 and a common problem that happens with belief. After brief trips to ’s World (Party on Garth!) and various teachings of Bob Proctor, I was reminded about the challenges that people have around New Year’s resolutions in general.    In many cases, we do want the thing that we selected as our resolution. The problem is our sub-conscious mind looks at that resolution and laughs at the conscious, thinking mind, because it “knows” the real you of the past. There are a lot of people that look on like Mike Meyers did to Aerosmith and say “I’m not worthy!”. When that happens, it can deflate your ambitions very quickly, because you don’t believe you are capable of the task.  These faulty beliefs are normally tied to a self-image that has taken some shots in the past. “Why get started if you’re only going to fail?” is the type of mentality that normally surfaces at these times.   How is your self image? If it’s weak, then you need to get to the task of building it up in any way that you can. One practical thing to do in this arena is be very careful to break a task down into such small, manageable pieces that give you a better shot of successfully completing them. Don’t take on too much, too quickly, only to set yourself up for additional disappointment.    If you are looking to lose weight, instead of saying you’re going to lose 10 lb. in a month which may be affected by several factors, all of which are probably not in your control, you might consider starting with something more like you will not have any snacks after 8:00 PM. This is within your control. Celebrate each day you are successful. This will help you link some successes together so you can tackle something bigger.   Michael Phelps has been resurfacing in the media more recently, recognized as sportsman or most interesting person of the year in various polls. One thing about athletes is that they build on past successes to give them the mental energy to endure the long practices. They can control the type of workout they do and how long they do it for. They also control what they eat and watch their nutrition. With the previous wins, they can feel good about making some of the sacrifices that are involved to form positive habits. That’s what’s usually at the core of a resolution: replacing old, bad habits with positive new ones.   The bottom line is, figure out what you are doing well. Even if all you are doing is dusting yourself off and getting back up after you’ve been knocked down, then build on that. Also remember, that you are important to someone and there is always someone who IS on your side and wants to see you live and flourish abundantly with your gifts and talents. Don’t let your mind hold you back. You are worthy and I believe in you. After all, you are part of the world. If you feel like you need more help setting and accomplishing your goals in 2009, then call the office for a free consultation at 770-912-8774.  Ask about our free audio training on self-image.  ...read more

If your Atlanta business relys on retention of your existing clients, then you may need to get creative in 2009 to protect your business.  I have recently been speaking with a number of accountants and marketing professionals, advertisers and other business owners who's personal numbers are down because of the clients that have gone out of business.  Indicators suggest that things in 2009 may not get much better.  Rather than wait for this to happen in your business, when was the last time you tried to reach out to your customers to become an extension of their sales and marketing forces? Most business owners would agree that it costs a lot more to create new customers than to retain old ones.  The thing that typically puzzles me when I sit down and review a companies marketing expenses is they allocate a lot more on new client generation while they ignore or underinvest in client retention models.  With these two thoughts in mind, becoming an extension of their sales / marketing force and checking the balance of your marketing spending, Hollner Promotions is offering a new program for 2009.  If you find too many of your company's eggs in one or a few clients' baskets, we can come in and act as your customer service department to work on ways to support their marketing and sales.  Call the office to at 770-912-8774 for pricing on this creative outsourcing solution that will be a solid marketing investment and build greater customer stability and loyalty In addition to helping your existing clients, this program carries the additional benefit of additional referral generation.  For a free consultation on creating a referral only business, call today.  770-912-8774. Follow us onwww.Twitter.com/atlbizconsultto keep updated on our numerous programs. ...read more

Considering Atlanta, GA is one of the top business markets in the country, chances are, there are things that work in Las Vegas that will work here as well.  Las Vegas calls itself the Entertainment Capital of the World.  With that in mind, there are several services that Vegas offers that don't have large enough markets to be offered elsewhere.  At the same time, with the size of Atlanta, several months of good weather and number of affluent people in downtown and north Atlanta, it makes sense to see what Vegas is offering to differentiate your business. One easy place to see what's going on in Vegas, without having to visit, it to watch the various travel channels.  There was a marathon on The Travel Channel showing everything from pimped out golf carts to shooting M16s and driving NASCARs at the Richard Petty Driving Experience.  Another place to look is online.  I would consider looking at some of the travel package tour sites that specialize on your niche.  You can also check out local review sites that offer feedback from residents.  Read the specifics in the reviews that mention the types of services the highest rated companies offer. To take it to another level though, you might consider actually visiting Las Vegas.  Before you go, make sure you've got a full list of companies in your industry and be prepared to take a lot of notes.  If you are in any aspect of the entertainment industry, this is almost a must, especially if you are looking to boutique your business and appeal to a higher level clientele.  Don't be afraid to ask the owners to meet with you.  Consider paying them if that's what it takes.  Many marketing experts will tell you that you would serve yourself well to market where your competition is not or to package yourself in different ways than your competition might expect to gain a competitive advantage.  Putting together customized entertainment packages could be just the thing to help you boost your business in 2009.  If you'd like someone to review your options, put together new product/service offerings and packages and/or put together a marketing calendar for 2009, call the office at 770-912-8774 to set up a free consultant.  We are offering 10 in January on a first come, first serve basis.  Don't miss this chance to make some positive marketing strides in 2009. ...read more

While putting together my marketing calendar training I recently delivered at the Back Office in , I came up with this short list of things that I am always striving to do to improve my client relationships. I thought you might like them as some of the small positive blocks to build upon for your own marketing efforts. It’s the T.I.P.S. formula for better future marketing.   T stands for Twitter. I love Twitter.com because it is something that is quick and personal. As busy as I am, I do normally have 2-3 minutes I can carve out of the day to let people know what I’m up to. By showing the scope of your projects and personality, it makes you more tangible and real. While there are strategic ways to use this tool, just get in and get started. Follow me atwww.Twitter.com/atlbizconsult.    I stands for Introduce. In this case, you should be trying to introduce yourself to potential strategic partners at least weekly, if not daily. I have had numerous discussions with some networking partners that as a group, we should trying to support each other more. My comment in this case is that most people need to change the types of referrals they ask for from a one-time customer to people who can feed them a customer a day / week / month. The hardest thing with setting up partnerships is having the time to grow the relationships. It has to start somewhere. Reach out.  I often work with other consultants, graphic artists, merchant services sales people and advertisers.   P stands for Phone. When is the last time that you called a previous client to ask for deeper understanding on how you are doing for them or even just to check the pulse in the marketplace. While you can ask for more business during these calls, that is not the full intention. A random phone call that focuses on the person and the relationship versus the transaction can pay big dividends in many arenas. Make sure you are reaching them at a good time and give them an out. Voice mail doesn’t hurt in these situations either. The phone is a powerful way to get what marketers refer to as a touch.   S stands for Send. In this case, I’m talking cards or personalized emails. When is the last time that you took a moment to forward a good online article to someone that could benefit? How about a birthday card for a client? Random personal messages can have tremendous impact because they catch people off guard and normally get their attention, even more so than the phone call.   I hope you found these ideas simple and practical enough to start implementing today. These are easy habits to form and will give you the mental energy that you are at least taking steps to make positive changes. Give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it.  If you'd like some help working on your TIPS or marketing plan for 2009, please call the office at 770-912-8774 for more details. ...read more

As an Atlanta marketing consultant and business strategist, I have different trainers and speakers that I follow.  I recently was reading a blog posting from one that was a response to his "greed" for charging people that want to have lunch with him.  I was impressed by the huge number of responses his posting of the original letter and his response to the letter received.  There was representation on both sides of the equation.  Some people saw his refusal for a free lunch as arrogant and short-sighted, where others applauded him for setting boundaries and sticking to them, encouraging him to raise his rates. Having used the "free trial" approach in numerous businesses I have been in, there are definitely rules that come up in the "free" scenario.  Here are a couple points of note, for your consideration: Free = no value.  One of the arguments the consultant gave was that people who get something for free often do nothing with the advice and don't make any changes.  This is because they have no skin in the game and the change required is too painful, especially with no skin in the game.  I would like to argue against this, but the longer I am in business, the more I have to say this is the case.  This is the same reason companies still make you pay something, even if they offer a 100% money back guarantee, versus just giving it to you for free up front.   If it didn't cost anything, it's too easy to ignore it and do nothing with it. Can I afford "free"? Businesses use "free" to start a relationship.   While this isn't the time or place to get into the psychology of why this is so effective, there are a number of times it is not.  Early in a business, to gain credibility, it may be necessary to offer to do things for free.  By doing so, you are assuming the risk.  The longer you are in business though, you will reach a stage where you can stand on the merits of your accomplishments.  When you have a mountain of evidence that what you do produces the solutions you are offering, then you shouldn't have to give things away because the risk factors are mitigated. When you give things away, you erode your margins and jeopardize all of the good you are able to do by having a thriving, successful business.  Will there be times that it would be advisable to do so that you may miss out on if you don't give free a chance?  Sure, but those will be smaller in number to the good you are able to create as part of the economy.  Not giving things away in general gives you more control to give where you want to. I still like to do some free presentations in Atlanta, GA to develop new programs and get feedback on new products.   This creates a win-win for everyone involved.  I get to practice a presentation and speaking material while the audience can benefit from the insights offered.  The time I'm investing is part of my marketing budget and calendar.  I can do a lot of things to market my business, and a "free" presentation is just one way, which may or may not be appropriate for another type of business.  What I have to measure is the amount of business the presentation brought in versus what I may have made if I invested the time differently.  This brings us to the idea of investing time.  Make sure "free" is a good investment. In the case in the article, having lunch for free to pick someone's brain, may not be a good investment of that person's time.  When businesses offer something for "free", there was some kind of cost tied to it.  Aside from cash, don't forget about the money value of time.  We only have so much time to "spend".  Time can be invested to form relationships.  If you need more business, consider the strength of the relationships you have.  In this consultant's case, he's got probably more business than he can or wants to personally handle, so he has no reason to invest time in additional, weaker relationships to get more business that he can't handle.   Make sure you look at things from the time investment side of things for both yourself and the other person when making requests for time, ie. a lunch or coffee meeting.  Be prepared to sell someone on why they should meet with you before you ask. There was an expression in one of the comments that I though made a lot of sense for people in general.  It came from a relationship expert and read something like: "It's acceptable to feel like you can ask for what you want from others, but before you ask, you have to be willing to accept what they tell you, especially if it isn't what you want to hear." I hope this article gave you some good "free" advice.  The reason I wrote it was to let you know I can help you work through the use of "free" in your business for maximum impact.  Just like the consultant I was referencing, I offer a lot of "free" information to hopefully give people a chance to earn enough to do business with me and/or establish enough credibility to reduce any risk a potential client might see on their side that would keep them from moving forward. If you'd like a free review of where your business is at and how we can do some work together, please call the office to set up an appointment.  You'll need to answer some questions before we get started, but the time will be well spent.  Call 770-912-8774 today.  If you'd like some free consulting or training for your business, ask about our referral program to see how you can earn it.  We invest into those that help us grow.  If this has made you think or made you angry, I'd love to hear about it!  Comment or call today. ...read more

Having worked with many companies in the defence industry, I have gotten to support our troops in little ways.  With my past allergies and eye glasses, the Air Force Academy didn't want me, so I didn't have the chance to serve.  Looking back, I wonder what if, as I don't know that such a structured life would be great for a creative person like myself, but I would hope that I could rise to the challenge. I have respect for those that put in their time to defend our rights and country.  I also thank their families that had to wonder about every time the phone rang what might be on the other end.  The only way I know to deal with that kind of stress is through faith. Considering the international opportunities and paid job training, the military brings a lot to the table for you men and women to launch their working life.  It also offers a lot to the US businesses, in terms of developing the next leaders, skilled workers and overall contributors.  If you didn't have a chance to do it today, take time this week to recognize the veterans around you. ...read more