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These courses for established business owners were developed as a result of topics that have been covered during Solutions Forum meetings over the last nine years, and mentor input about what they’ve seen in their practices. The classes are intended to give the established business owners knowledge that have been persistent weak areas. Of course, no one’s perfect, so we found ourselves covering about any conceivable business topic!

These courses are 1-2 hours long, not eight weeks.

If you don’t see a topic covered that you have as a concern, email us, and we’ll either tell you where it’s covered or start developing a course around the topic!

To register a course, click the date of the course(s) you wish to reserve, then click "Purchase Selected Courses" at the bottom of this page.
 

E01: Sales Best Practices - Course One: Evaluating Your Present Sales Force
Companies that have used these methods have either increased sales or cut sales expenses! Learn how to properly evaluate your present sales force through the use of metrics of what each rep should be doing to be successful. Learn how to develop success metrics. Learn how to profile the 'winners' on your sales force by using these metrics, and what 'winning behaviors' will be. Save thousands in sales consulting fees by taking this course. These solutions are real-word practices that have worked for others.
Mentor: John Heinrich
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E02: Sales Best Practices - Course Two: Hiring the Best Sales Force
Learn how to profile the sales force that you want using metrics on key sales skills that your reps should have. Learn how to develop the metrics that the 'winners' on your sales force exhibit, and translate that into success compensation. Learn interviewing techniques to ensure you get the people you want. Learn how to develop starting or training compensation packages, onboarding behaviors and set how to set goals for the new trainees. These are real-world practices that have worked for others.
Mentor: John Heinrich
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E03: How To Sell
This course will teach you the proven basics of relationship selling, whether you're retail or wholesale. You will learn why having a Unique Selling Proposition is critical, along with the mechanics of what salespersons should do, how they should probe for customer needs (no 'presenting' allowed), how to get to and through the three qualification steps for prospects and the basics of closing the sale without drama. You will learn how to do effective post-sale follow-up in wholesale and retail environments.
Mentor: John Heinrich
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E04: Internet Marketing: Search Engine Marketing - Advanced
Learn "insider tips" and "best practices" for search engine optimization, Pay-Per Click search engine advertising, landing page design, and tracking and measurement of your marketing ROI. Learn which tools are best for tracking, analyzing, and executing search engine marketing activity. Mentor: Lee Steele
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E05: Internet Marketing: Email Marketing
Email marketing campaigns increase customer awareness and sales. Learn "insider tips" and "best practices" for successful email marketing campaigns. Maximize the successful results by knowing the "dos and don'ts" of development email marketing. Mentor: Lee Steele
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E06: Inner Game of Prospecting: Overcoming Sales Call Resistance
Are your sales reps reluctant to prospect with cold or warm leads? This course will teach you and them what they need to know to overcome psychological and emotional barriers to calling. Has a diagnostic test to measure rep reluctance to make cold calls. Taught by internationally recognized authority.
Mentor: Connie Kadansky
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E07: Cold Call Prospecting
Sales reps who cold call consistently along with other prospecting activity MAKE MORE MONEY! Steps to take to identify leads, quality prospects, set up appointments or demos. Covers methods reps use to sabotage you and their success. Covers common scripting situations. Covers the mechanics to ensure that your sales reps prospect consistently. Taught by internationally recognized authority.
Mentor: Connie Kadansky
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E08: Social Media
Are you ready to harness the power of social media to build your business? This course provides the overview you need to start thinking smart about social media and its role in your business. You will become familiar with social media tools and how to determine which best suits your business goals. You will learn what your customers expect of your social media, and how to use your strengths to drive your social media activity. With your conclusion of this course, you will have attained the skills to implement a social media action plan or improve your present social media strategy. Mentor: Charlene Kingston
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E09: Employment Regulations for Established Businesses
If you have employees, this is a 'must-take' class. In this survey class you will learn the basics of what you can and can't do in hiring and firing employees, the differences between an employee and independent contractor, 'at will employment', basics of employee handbooks, wage and hourly laws (and state differences), overtime and compensatory time off laws, and much more.
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E10: Personnel Hiring, Evaluation, and Retention
Learn a proven system for defining the skills and work experience of a position for your company and how to evaluate the capability of a prospective employee for a position. Employee turnover can become a major operational cost to your business, which is estimated between 70 and 200 percent of a new employee’s first year salary. Learn how to avoid the costs of hiring and rehiring. Instead, hire and retain the right employees and realize the long-term benefits to your company and profitability. Your mentor: Julie Fletcher
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E11: Financial Management for Established Businesses - Course One: Analyzing Financial Statements
Learn to read and analyze financial statements such as Profit & Loss Statement (also known as Income Statement), Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flow. You will learn how to apply financial ratios and numerical tools to more effectively manage your business. Mentor: Shauna Wekherlien
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E12: Financial Management for Established Businesses - Course Two: Budgeting and Proforma
Budgeting income and expenses and preparing a proforma (a projection financial position over a period of time or on a future date) are essential tools for the financial management of a business. These tools will enable you to track sources that create revenues, where money is being spent, validate or invalidate growth estimates, and prepare financial statments that will please the banker. Mentor: Shauna Wekherlien
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E13: Quick Books for Established Businesses
Is your business prospering but your bookkeeping and accounting systems are in disarray? Learn to customize your accounting systems to your business operation. Learn how financial statements can be readily available and understandable to you, your tax accountant, and your banker. Recommended prerequisite for this course is E11: Financial Management for Established Business Owners - Course One: Analyzing Financial Statements. Your Mentor: Tina Wahl. THIS COURSE WILL BE AVAILABLE ONLY AS ON-DEMAND DURING INCOME TAX SEASON;WILL RESUME "LIVE" AUDIOCAST JUNE 2011.
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E14: Finding Financing: Bank Loans, Leasing, Factoring, Purchase Order Financing, Supplier Financin
It's not been easy getting bank financing, but your chances are better if you take this course. Your personal or corporate credit must be good; find out how to fix it. A synopsis of your marketing plan (how to repay the money) Learn how and when to use equipment leasing, factoring, purchase order financing, bartering, customer advances against purchase orders, microloans and supplier financing, all of which are tried and true techniques. Also learn whether you should sell a portion of your business to investors or venture capitalists.
Mentor: John Heinrich
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E15: Marketing Best Practices
Learn match marketing -- advertising, public relations, electronic media -- to influence customers to buy. Avoid wasting money on ineffective marketing. This course will guide you through a review and updating your traget market, how to develop and deliver a unique selling proposition (USP), how to maximize market strategies, and how to rejuvenate sales. Mentor: John Heinrich
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E16: Maxmizing the Value of Your Business
The business owner's dream is to build a business, bring it to life, and make it successful. However, it is how you plan your small business exit strategy that will eventually determine your financial success. Just as building a successful business takes planning, hard work, and a little luck, so does leaving it. Twenty percent (20%) of businesses are for sale, but only 1 in 4 actually sell. Two businesses that make the same amount of money do not necessarily have the same value. With that in mind, this course will answer these questions: What are some of the key factors that will impact the value of your business when you are ready to exit? Learn what business owners can do to enhance the value of their business and create value that is transferrable. Learn how to identify and enhance the Key Value Drivers in your business that will distinguish your business from competitors, leverage business profitability, and reduce risk. Your Mentor: Kjell Andreassen, Certified Exit Planner, CExP
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E17: Management of Business Insurance
Learn to perform an annual audit of your business insurance coverages. You will learn how to review your protection planning whenever changes occur in your business. Are you paying for coverages no longer needed or have you overlooked protection coverage where needed? This course teaches risk management and policy language and concepts. You will learn how to assess current insurance coverage, and become better informed for making costs effective decisions about protection planning for your business. Your Mentor: Rondi Andreassen
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E18: International Business Expansion
Learn whether your business can be expanded internationally, and where. Learn how to cope with cultural and legal differences. Learn how to do expand internationally inexpensively using proven methods. Learn an unorthodox method of protecting your business' intellectual property that doesn't involve patent attorneys and lawsuits.
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E19: Your Business as Your Retirement Plan -- Facts and Fiction?
This course discusses wealth building and retention strategies to maximize the value of your business as a retirement asset. Business owners can have unrealisstic expectations about retirement based on the sale of their business. Long-range, early retirement planning for equity preservation minimizes asset depletion from such risks as double taxation. Learn the benefits of early retirement planning which positions business equity into tax-efficient and diversified retirement assets. Learn insights for succession planning to provide greater rewards for you and your family. Your mentor: Joyce Morningstar
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29
E21: Customer Service
Customer service is a badly neglected service area that can be an important differentiation for your products and services, whether offered in a physical location or over the internet. The techniques are those used by major American firms, but applicable around the world, and should even be used at outsourced locations. Customer service also has a major role in product and service innovation, because of the customer interfaces that should be practiced every in your organization. In this course, you will learn what the basics of customer service are, and more advanced techniques, such as customer dispute resolution and evaluation techniques for your customer service representatives. You will also learn how CSRs can be your front-line for innovation.
Mentor: John Heinrich
On-Demand Recorded Course  $29