2008 Arkansas Small Business Conference Seminar Descriptions
The Arkansas Small Business Conference presented by Arkansas Occupational Health Clinic and Sam’s Club on Sept. 12 will include general sessions and seminars running the gamut from legal pros to marketing experts. Conference activities run from 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Can’t make it for the whole day? Feel free to pop in for lunch or just a session or two – the low $35 admission price means you can stay an hour or the whole day, offering maximum flexibility to business professionals.
Conference Agenda and Seminar Descriptions
8 a.m. Welcome - Raymond Burns, Tom Hopper and Angie Tucker-Ridley
Opening Session Speaker Paul Vitale
“It’s Your Business, It’s Your Name” – Paul Vitale
Everybody talks about great customer service, but Paul shows you and your team how to make this precept the beating heart of your daily interaction with your customers. Every team member who is on the frontline of your business will learn the necessary skills and attitudes to make great customer service more than a slogan. He’ll show your team: effective communication skills; the relevance of teamwork; effective work habits; and the importance of the internal and external appearance of the business. This is vital since a typical dissatisfied customer will tell 8 to 10 people of his or her experience.
9:45 a.m. Session 1 Concurrent Seminars
"The CRUX of The Matter: $$$" - Linda Nelson, Small Business Administration
We've all heard it said, "You've got to have money to make money." Well, it's true, but there's more to it than that - how much, how do I leverage what I have, the timing of it, to borrow or not to borrow, how much should I pay for it, how do I know I have it right, and how do I monitor what I have. SBA has a variety of financing options designed with specifics just for small businesses. The "art" of managing capital in your business is not rocket science if you know what you need, when, why, what for, and what's available. Learn from the "Frank" lesson and what other services are available to enhance your chances of success in business.
“Integrating Communication and Social Networking for Business Success” - Carla Sloan and Angela Belford
For the first time four generations will be at the workplace together. How do your current perceptions impact your ability to communication effectively? Part of creating synergy in networking requires that you know how to use technology to your advantage. Are you LinkedIn, do you have a blog or have you been on a forum lately? This session will provide new insights on how this technology can serve you and your company.
“Turning Customer Objection into Sales” - David Miller, Dale Carnegie Training
Objections to your solutions are a natural part of selling. You resolve objections by following a process of listening for understanding, questioning for clarification, cushioning to establish common ground, presenting compelling evidence and evaluation. Resolving objections effectively is a process that involves careful, sensitive listening along with positive, factual responses to buyer concerns. You must understand that buyer objections are not always rational. Objections are often totally emotional. You must respond to customers’ emotional needs, along with the obstacles preventing them from buying, if you want to build long-term relationship and close with sales.
“What’s Your Business Worth? Simple Advice on Finding the Real Value of Your Business” – Robert Timmons, Assistant Professor of Business, John Brown University.
Eventually most small business owners will want to calculate the worth of their business, for the purpose of sale, loan applications or when looking for outside capital investment, estate planning or net worth calculation. Additionally, calculation is critical when deciding to purchase a business. There are numerous valuation techniques, ranging from simple to more complex methods. This program focuses on more simple techniques and briefly covers important topics to consider when thinking about buying or selling a small to mid-sized business.
11 a.m. Session 2 Concurrent Seminars
“How to Legally Structure Your Small Business to Avoid Personal Liability” - Anthony W. (Tony) Noblin, Associate Attorney, The Watkins Law Office, PLLC
To incorporate or not to incorporate? This session will not only explore the legal benefits and pitfalls of the different types of corporations, but it will also provide important information to maintaining corporate formalities to avert personal liability
“Cover Your Assets: Business Insurance 101” - Panel of Insurance Experts including Brad Bridgers, Jeremy Cox and Rick McLeod
Whether you are considering starting a business, or have been an owner for years, defining what coverages are required to protect your investment can be a daunting challenge. Knowing the risks, and how to effectively manage them will spell the difference in long term success or failure. “Cover Your Assets: Business Insurance 101” will provide you the tools to make informed decisions.
“Managing Cash Flow to Improve Your Bottom Line” – Mark Lundy, Lundy Allard & Co., PLLC
Successful cash flow management is the difference between success and failure in local business. Packed with practical tips and ideas, this seminar will help you to take control of cash flow in your business. Learn how to increase profits by speeding up the working capital cycle, save money by reducing your cost of capital, make the most of excess cash and use cash flow as a tool to understand and improve your business. Attendees will also learn about cash flow basics and why cash is king.
“Maximizing Your Website’s Potential” – Shan Pesaru, Sharp Hue
Have you ever wondered why a competitor’s website appears higher in search engine results, like Google? It might appear like luck, but the truth is that these sites are probably pursuing a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. This seminar will provide you with successful techniques to get your website noticed by Google and other search engines and improve your placement in search results pages. Learn how to attract your target audience via search engines, make your website search-engine friendly, optimize content for your target keywords and much more. In this seminar you will be exposed to the secrets of site optimization and how you can use this relatively free technique to dominate your competitors on the web.
12 p.m. Luncheon and "Small Business of the Year" Awards
Luncheon Speaker - Kim Hodous, "As It Is In Life, So It Is in Business"
2 p.m. Session 3 Concurrent Seminars
“I’ve Got It . . . Who Wants It?” – John Riggins, President, The Riggins Group
Coming up with new product (or service) ideas and getting them into the market is what keeps your business going, but over 80 percent of new product launches fail. How do you beat the odds? This session gives some common sense (and economical) ideas for improving your changes of success. Just as importantly, it will explore how to keep bad ideas from getting too far down the path of wasting your time and money.
“Who are You Talking To?” – Barry Cobbs, President, LiveLight!
Do you wake up thinking “am I advertising the right way?” The answer depends upon who your customers are and how you’re talking to them. As a business owner, you are bombarded and confused with seemingly great advertising deals for TV, print or radio ads and offers for brochures, billboards and websites. How do you make the right decision to ensure that you’re advertising effectively? You have to know your customer and how to best communicate with that customer. This seminar will help you make the right choices for your advertising and marketing plan. Once you know your audience and how to reach them, you will be able to create an effective advertising plan, be confident about your buying choices and know when you’re really getting a good deal.
“Avoiding Legal Pitfalls”-- Susan Keller Kendall, Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon & Galchus, P.C.
What legal pitfalls apply to you and, more importantly, how can you avoid them? In this session you will receive an up-to-date overview of the common mistakes small employers make and how best to avoid them. You will receive simple, inexpensive tips on how to ensure your everyday employment practices keep your business and you out of court. Topics will include a broad range of employment issues ranging from the hiring process to the termination process and everything in between.
When Tragedy Strikes: Implementing Emergency Preparedness Plans for Business Survival – Carl Grimes, Certified Business Intermediary
Natural disasters and emergencies may happen at any time. Planning for disasters, natural or manmade, in advance and keeping those plans updated may help ensure the survival of your business. This seminar is designed to help business owners plan for and survive natural and man-man disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and tragedies of personal nature. It will contain practical steps and resources for the small business owner to implement such as business survival planning and how to use the plan to prepare for succession.
8 a.m. Keynote Speaker Joseph A. Michelli, Ph.D.
“Creating the Total Customer Experience – Lessons Learned from Companies Such as Starbucks and The Ritz-Carlton”
Given current economic realities, businesses today face greater challenges in distinguishing themselves from their competition. Many business leaders have come to realize that heightened service levels offer a dramatic advantage in creating this differentiation. In fact, leadership often understands that increased profits are achieved when traditional customer service is replaced by memorable customer “experiences.” In this keynote presentation, Dr. Michelli will address how to avoid the “commoditization trap” by creating the environment for transformational customer experiences which produce profit, customer engagement and loyalty. The presentation will examine how a service- or product-based business can create a “customer experience culture” through touch point mapping, defining desired emotional customer outcomes, measurement of the customer experience, and a constant and open dialogue with the customer. Dr. Michelli will also distinguish between transactional businesses and fully experiential service cultures while identifying strategies to energize and empower your workforce to produce legendary customer experiences.
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