The Key to Success for Services: Moving Operations to the Cloud
There are very few industries that can benefit from adopting a cloud-based technology environment like the services industry. The shift to the cloud has occurred across all facets of our economy—but project, rather than product-based organizations, experience a greater cost-benefit from moving operations and data to the cloud.
How to Create a Competitive Business Analysis
Even if you think you’re the first to have a business idea, there are likely other options in the marketplace. There is always someone out there offering something competitive to your product or service.
The Four-Step Guide to Dealing with Difficult Customers
In 30 years of serving clients, I’ve seen all sorts of situations, from clients who communicate poorly to those who seemingly can’t be pleased. Oftentimes, there were steps on my end I could take to make the situation better with any relationship. In this post, I’ll share with you the four core best practices I’ve learned for dealing with difficult customers.
How to Gain A Competitive Advantage with Customer Trust: 6 Simple Steps
Trust is critical in any client-provider relationship. Your clients should be able to trust your quality of work, ease of communication, and that you can deliver what you promise. Not to mention, customer trust is an ideal way to gain a competitive advantage over your market.
Seven Highly Successful Individuals Weigh In On How to Network in 2017
Every time you go to an event, it doesn’t take long to notice that there are a few networking superstars in the room who hand their business cards to every single person they meet. They often know hundreds and even thousands of people, but when it the time comes to call in a favor or score an important meeting, they come up empty handed. Ever wonder why?
How to Increase Customer Satisfaction During the Digital Age
Here’s the bad news: Research indicates that 80 percent of companies think they deliver “superior” customer service, but only 8 percent of customers agree that the same companies actually do.
Ditch Resolutions This New Year: 5 Big and Inspiring Business Goals for 2017
You’ve decided to ditch that tradition of making (and breaking) resolutions once and for all. Congratulations. So, now what? Close your eyes and imagine it is one year later. What would you like your company to have achieved? What obstacles will you have overcome, and what are the chances you actually will achieve those ends?
How to Reduce Employee Attrition Before You Lose Profits
High employee attrition costs way more than you think. A study by the Center for American Progress recently found that the cost of employee turnover for a single worker can add up to more than 16 percent of their annual salary, and for un-salaried employees it can come to a whopping 213 percent of their wage especially when it comes to individuals with specialized training.
The State of Services Series: Five Business Trends You Cannot Ignore in 2017
The service industry is currently experiencing unprecedented levels of growth, and doesn’t show signs of letting up anytime soon. Why? The speed and complexity of business today have rendered traditional enterprise models inadequate. With rapid evolution in markets and competition, organizations must become continuously more lean and agile. External providers allow a business to tap into the right resources, at the right moment, in order to innovate and leverage new technologies at speed....
Three Strategic Types of Clients to Help Your Firm Grow
Healthy margins are the most critical element of a successful services business. Every portfolio, client, and every single project, needs to turn a profit for your firm.
The 2017 State of the Services Economy Series: An Introduction to the Service Level Economy
I see more opportunity for businesses in the services sector than at any other time in my 30 years of experience in related industries. Economic forces are driving a tremendous amount of demand for a myriad of services.
Inspirational Quotes from 7 Famous CEOs
Scaling a company in today's complex economic climate is much more than simply adding headcount or expanding your sales strategy. To help you understand the hurdles associated with business success, we have collected lesser-known quotes on growth from successful entrepreneurs.
16 Project Metrics You Should Be Tracking
Project managers need to closely monitor and evaluate how well their teams are achieving goals, hitting deadlines and delivering each project on time and on budget.
Estimating Time Accurately: 4 Tips That Will Make or Break Your Project Budget
Unless a project or task is something that you’ve repeated many times, estimating time can be daunting. Truth is, very few of us are 100 percent correct even with lots of experience. Contingencies change, conditions are altered, and budgets and schedules collide like opposing forces bent on making even the most exacting estimates wrong. Eliminating risk is impossible, but you can mitigate the impact of inaccurate time estimates on your budget by experimenting with these tips.
