Author: MIchael and Bonnie Harvey

Welcome to Business Audio Theatre the Most Effective Onboarding Tool to Reduce Turnover and Increase Engagement
Preserve Founders Legacy through Story Performed by Actors with Sound Effects and Music
DOES YOUR HISTORY, FOUNDING SPIRIT, & GUIDING PRINCIPLES GET LOST OVER TIME?

Does your growth result in specialization, turf battles, corporate malaise, costly employee turnover, and lack of engagement and loss of the big picture?
"Any company that works intentionally on their culture will like this product for on-boarding."
-Bill Higgs, Host, Culture Code Champions Podcast
"TRANSFORMATIONAL ! Tremendous potential for CEO's to tell their story in a new way!"
-Robert Reiss, Forbes Magazine
After building & selling the famous Barefoot Wine Brand and writing the NYT's Bestseller, The Barefoot Spirit, used in 60 schools of entrepreneurship, and after a decade of being trusted advisors to startups, buildups, and buildouts, Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey have developed Business Audio Theatre. As workplace culture experts, they believe the best way to increase engagement and reduce turnover is through story. They believe the best way to convey business story is through audio theatre provided to new employees on day one. Identification with the founders, their story, and their principles is the basis for identification. Identification is the basis for engagement. Engagement is the basis for longevity. Find out more!

Watch C-Suite TV Interview with Taryn Winter Brill:

Listen to The Barefoot Spirit from the C-Suite Library

Call: 707-484-1600

EMAIL: Sales@TheBarefootSpirit.com

Michael & Bonnie in Action:

1.5 minute: https://barefootspirit.wistia.com/medias/svuthvx4uy

2.5 minute: https://barefootspirit.wistia.com/medias/q1t21okz9f

3 minute: https://barefootspirit.wistia.com/medias/8y5btoyfrw

10 minute: https://barefootspirit.wistia.com/medias/8crj4p1hg9
|Welcome to Business Audio Theatre the Most Effective Onboarding Tool to Reduce Turnover and Increase Engagement
Preserve Founders Legacy through Story Performed by Actors with Sound Effects and Music
DOES YOUR HISTORY, FOUNDING SPIRIT, & GUIDING PRINCIPLES GET LOST OVER TIME?

Watch C-Suite TV Interview with Taryn Winter Brill:

Listen to The Barefoot Spirit from the C-Suite Library

Call: 707-484-1600

EMAIL: Sales@TheBarefootSpirit.com

Michael & Bonnie in Action:

1.5 minute: https://barefootspirit.wistia.com/medias/svuthvx4uy

2.5 minute: https://barefootspirit.wistia.com/medias/q1t21okz9f

3 minute: https://barefootspirit.wistia.com/medias/8y5btoyfrw

Watch C-Suite TV Interview with Taryn Winter Brill:

Listen to The Barefoot Spirit from the C-Suite Library

Call: 707-484-1600

EMAIL: Sales@TheBarefootSpirit.com

Michael & Bonnie in Action:

1.5 minute: https://barefootspirit.wistia.com/medias/svuthvx4uy

2.5 minute: https://barefootspirit.wistia.com/medias/q1t21okz9f

3 minute: https://barefootspirit.wistia.com/medias/8y5btoyfrw

10 minute: https://barefootspirit.wistia.com/medias/8crj4p1hg9

Entrepreneurship Personal Development

Tell Your Story With an Experienced and Award-Winning Team

Post author By MIchael and Bonnie Harvey
Post date December 10, 2020
No Comments on Tell Your Story With an Experienced and Award-Winning Team

If you are considering bringing your business story to life in an audio theatre production, you want to make sure that you are engaging with the right team. After all, this is an investment in time and money that will provide you returns for generations.

You want a team that has a business background and has been through their own entrepreneurial journey so they can appreciate yours.
You want a team that has experience in business education so they can understand how important story is to convey business principles.
You want an author who can listen to your story and recreate the characters, actions, and outcomes in scripts that convey your real life events in an entertaining and informative audio play.
You want a production team with some of the top actors, directors, editors, sound engineers, and musical score writers in the entertainment industry.
You want your own executive producer to be responsible for every aspect of production.
And you want a team that has not only done it before, but an award-winning team, recognized by the Audiobook Publishers Association for excellence in a new form of business audiobook.

The Dream Team

This dream team has been created, proven, and awarded. It has already produced the first example of Business Audio Theatre, The Barefoot Spirit. It’s the true story of the creation and building of the world’s #1 wine brand. Based on the New York Times Bestseller, this audiobook story was recognized as one of the top five business audiobooks of 2020 by the Audiobook Publishers Association. It was quite an honor for us to be recognized by an organization made up of and financed by the largest audiobook publishing houses in the country!

Experience

The Founders of Barefoot Wine and the creators of Business Audio Theatre, Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey, will personally oversee the creation and production of your audiobook story. They have been through it before and understand the details and subtleties of the process. They are experienced executive managers in their own right, with 20 years of successful entrepreneurial experience from startup to enterprise, and 15 years in international entrepreneurial education, thought leadership, business writing, and service as advisors to companies of all sizes. They will make the team they used to do their own Business Audio Theatre, your dream team!

The Writer

The Stanford journalism alumni, New York Times bestselling business story coauthor, and award-winning audiobook playwright, Rick Kushman, will be your playwright. Rick has had a career as a newspaper columnist for the Sacramento Bee, television journalist, book writer, and producer of hundreds of business and marketing pieces for such major organizations as E&J Gallo and UC Davis Medical Center. He was the co-author of The Barefoot Spirit and the playwright for the business audiobook version.

The Producers

Sherwood Players, the multiple-award-winning Hollywood movie and production company, headed by celebrated Director Matt Weinglass, will be your director, and his incredible talent bank will play your characters with authentic and realistic role casting. His expert audio, sound, and music editors will bring your story to life in a compelling performance that will engage, entertain, and inspire your listeners.

The Manager

Through all of this, Bonnie Harvey, who oversaw production and supply chain management at Barefoot Wines and again, through the entire writing and production process of the first business audio theatre, will be your guide, production manager, executive producer, and account executive.

Find out more about the process and your Business Audio Theatre team.

The Romance of the Wine Business – Not!

Post author By MIchael and Bonnie Harvey
Post date November 19, 2020
No Comments on The Romance of the Wine Business – Not!

The wine business has always had an aura of romance about it. You know – swirl, sniff, sip. Say a few words in French and talk about mid-notes …Forget about it!

Take it from folks who actually succeeded in the wine business. It’s more about forklifts, warehouses, trucks, and clerks! It’s about meeting a price point, staying ahead of the competition, staying in stock, and not breaking a multitude of laws. And it’s about dusting bottles, pricing items, and putting up signage! So much for mid-notes.

Mystery…

Just like any business, it’s hard work, it’s hiring and firing, it’s cash flow management, and it’s earning and maintaining credit from vendors. And it’s sales, sales, sales! You may need a drink by the end of the day, but romance? Not even close!

This is not to say that the wine industry doesn’t like to portray itself as somehow mystic, ethereal, and mysterious. As our friend likes to say, “Where there is mystery, there is margin.” But at the lower, more competitive price points where we produced, there was neither mystery nor margin.

Velocity

We had to distinguish ourselves on the basis of value for price. Our mission was simple, four words: Best Wine, Best Price. The best price was the price at which most wine sold, which was the price that wine sold the fastest, referred to as the velocity price point. In every category, there is a velocity price. Whether it’s a bicycle or a can of beans, you already know what you can expect to pay. That’s the velocity price.

But what did we mean by “Best Wine”? Everybody says their product is the best. For us best meant the greatest number of medals awarded in industry-recognized third-party competitions. So for us, “Best Wine, Best Price” simply meant most medals at the velocity price.

Next!

So aside from entering every competition, we could find, how did we win? That’s all about the sourcing, winemaking, and adherence to taste profiles. And that’s all about the winemaker. So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that Chapter 7 of our business audio theatre, The Barefoot Spirit, opens with the unlikely events that led us to hire the world’s most awarded winemaker – which she soon earned after a few years making Barefoot Wine.

At the time she was also conspicuous as a woman in a heavily male-dominated profession and was, in fact, one for the first women winemakers in the industry.

Our previous winemaker advised our salespeople to slow down on sales because there was a shortage of wine. He was right about the shortage, but the real shortage was a shortage of optimism, ideas, and innovation at a time of very limited supplies. This is when we say, “Never, but never, tell a salesperson to slow down on sales!” When we heard about this, we just looked at each other and said our favorite four-letter word, “Next!”

Assertive!

We called a friend who was a winemaker in his own right and asked him if he knew of any winemakers we could hire. He said, “Well, last week there was a lady winemaker who came through here. I wanted to hire her, but the board members thought she was too assertive!” We said, “Get her over here right now!”

She came over we talked for hours and she was hired just like that! Jennifer Wall distinguished herself as not only assertive, but imaginative, resourceful, and practical. She proceeded to overcome the supply, inventory, and quality control challenges and rack up tons of awards in the process. (She still makes Barefoot Wine, and still wins tons of awards!)

Somewhere in the World

Meanwhile, back at the shortage. We asked, “So, Jen, how are you going to overcome this wine shortage?” Her answer was a very big picture, “Somewhere out there in the world there’s too much wine and we are going to find it!” And for the wine drought of 1995 and 1996, we use reds from France and whites from Chile. We were able to hold our price point, deliver gold-medal quality, and stay in stock! All the while insisting that the salespeople increase sales! No romance, but a huge amount of hustle!

The rest of the chapter is replete with entertaining short scenes that recount the real nitty-gritty challenges of the wine business including the myriad of laws that created roadblocks in each state, until of course, you figured out the legal work-around.

No Free Wine!

In Nevada, for instance, we got an ad in the Safeway chain and thought we would entice the store managers to bring in multiple cases and display them to get the most out of this opportunity. Our idea seemed simple enough, “Buy 10 cases, get one free!” But no! That was illegal in Nevada! You can’t give away free alcohol in Nevada.

Gambling is legal, walking on the street with a drink in your hand is legal. Heck, prostitution is legal! But you can’t give away a free case of wine. – So, “How do they do it in Nevada?” we asked. Our distributor replied, “Well if that’s what you want to do, we usually give them eleven for the price of ten!” …Done! And it goes on like that throughout this amusing and informative chapter.

Superstars

At Barefoot Wines, there was so much new information coming in every day that the learning curve was getting steeper and steeper – it was like running into a wall. But what kept the company going was its ability to attract and keep incredible talent that invented their way out of the obstacles driven by the belief that there WAS a solution. Just keep asking and trying until you find it! THE ANSWER IS THERE!

Another Barefoot superstar was none other than Randy Arnold who understood that the wine business was won one customer at a time! He believed the days of mass marketing were over. He believed in micro-marketing. It’s hard to believe that in this 21st century, hyperconnected, social media world, there was ever a time when a wine bottle did not have an 800 number. So we decided to go for it!

The lawyers told us not to. They said we would increase our liability and get calls from inebriated patrons late at night. They were right and some of them were quite entertaining. But more importantly, we got feedback that gave us a real edge.

The Barefoot Guy

In one scene, one of our salespeople shows up at a customer’s door and introduces himself to an astonished consumer as the Sales Manager from Barefoot Wine. “I hear you got a bad bottle of Barefoot and I’m here to replace it and give you a tee-shirt!” Now, just imagine this kind of personalized attention in today’s so-called interconnected world!

In another scene, Randy Arnold returns an 800 number call to an on-going party in Chicago. The party-goers can’t believe it! A real person, the National Sales Manager, no less! He said how much he appreciated their calling to say that they were enjoying Barefoot Wine. With the loud party going on in the background, the person answering the phone yells, “Hey everybody! Be quiet! It’s the Barefoot Guy!” And that handle stuck with Randy thereafter!

So, to be successful in any business, ultimately “romance” has to take a back seat to innovation, hard work, hustle, and stellar customer service. No mystery there!

Please enjoy a “taste” of The Barefoot Spirit business audio theatre by being our guest to a free chapter!

Best Practices Entrepreneurship Personal Development

Do a Re-Take on Your Miss-Take

Post author By MIchael and Bonnie Harvey
Post date October 23, 2020
No Comments on Do a Re-Take on Your Miss-Take

As we grow up, we were told not to make mistakes. In school, mistakes could result in poor grades …or worse, lost games! In your job, a mistake could land you in the unemployment line. Is it any wonder that we tend to downplay and downright hide our mistakes? We feel embarrassed and ashamed. We wish they had never happened. But there they are, mistakes! They seem unavoidable yet somehow predictable.

Don’t Hide Mistakes

As employers, we noticed that new employees, coming from other companies where mistakes were especially frowned upon, would seem to “whistle past the graveyard,” pretend like they never happened, or say things like, “Oh, don’t worry we have it all straightened out now,” as if the repair or the patch was the end of it – as if it was more important to simply get by the mistake than to take a good look at it and figure out how it happened …and how to prevent it in the future.

Celebrate Mistakes

Mistakes are inevitable. It’s what you do with a mistake that’s important. In our business, we celebrated our mistakes and the mistakes of our people. Why? Because with the right attitude, inspection, and redesign, we knew we could make the mistake less likely to reoccur in the future.

Write New Documents

In fact, we learned that every mistake was caused by some kind of a misunderstanding, lack of information, or poor communication. So we focused on documents. Yes, documents! We knew that behind every mistake was a document waiting to be written, corrected, or clarified. Maybe it was a sign on the wall, a clause in a contract, an item in a job description. Maybe it was something on a checklist, a policy, a procedure, or a signoff sheet. But it was a document. And sometimes more than one!

When we started our business our contracts were three pages long, but when we sold our business, they were 37 pages long! Every mistake, when seen as an opportunity to tighten up, tune up, or level up is a gold mine. Randy Arnold once said, “Never waste a perfectly good mistake!”

Building on the Backs of Mistakes

So, given the number of mistakes we made building the Barefoot brand, is it any wonder that we entitled the 8th chapter of our Business Audio Theatre production of The Barefoot Spirit, “Never Waste A Perfectly Good Mistake”? And yea, like any successful business, ours was fraught with mistakes. Chapter 8 recalls many, but more importantly, it tells the stories of how we used them to get better and how we used them to grow!

Giving Permission

You see, the key to getting the most out of any mistake is the magic word, missing in so many companies, missing in our upbringing, schooling, and former employers. That word is “Permission.” Not permission to be incompetent, but permission to admit to a procedural mistake, as long as you make it right, and not just right, but w-r-i-t-e! Write it down and improve the documents so the whole company continues to improve.

Taking Responsibility

In one scene, we arrive in Chicago for a big trade show where key buyers are coming to see our new products, but the new products are not waiting for us at the hotel like they were supposed to be. Aside from the graphic irritation and outright yelling that ensued, it becomes clear that the hotel receiving clerk refused the packages because the recipients, us, weren’t registered at the hotel …yet!

Never mind that he should have checked for future bookings, never mind that he had, to say the least, a very simplistic view of his job, and never mind that he screwed up a very expensive trip for the hotel’s guests who would never stay there again. And never mind that his paycheck is paid for by that guest and others! We took responsibility. We had to. Otherwise, it would happen again, and again. So, ultimately blame was not satisfying; however, a solution was. We thought, “What can we do on our end to make this less likely to reoccur?”

Best Laid Plans…

Our next package to a hotel in advance of a trade show had one-inch high lettering across it saying “DO NOT REFUSE THIS PACKAGE! Your Guest Michael Houlihan will be here on March 19th to claim it. Your boss Mary Smith ext. 293 is expecting it. Please call 1 800 750 8000 with any questions.” We wrote a new policy for all outgoing packages. We followed it up with a procedural checklist and signoff for our own people. Problem solved, right?

Wrong! A year later, even with the signage, a package was again refused. Why this time? The sign was facing down when the package was delivered! New policy: one inch high notices on all 6 sides! Now the problem was more likely solved.

A Better Idiot

One of our executives chided the “make mistakes right” policy, saying, “But Michael, you’re trying to make everything idiot-proof.” To which Michael retorted, “No, we are just trying to make it idiot resistant!” To which he retorted, “But Michael, even as we speak, they are building a better idiot!” …and so they were.

Chapter 8 is replete with scene after scene demonstrating mistake after mistake. But there’s a thread of principle in all the foolery. We improved our communications and became better focused and more realistic. In fact, we built our business on the backs of those mistakes.

ASS-U-ME

When the state governments started lowering the allowable blood alcohol level from 1.00 to .08, we thought that is was a great time for wine with lower alcohol, especially since most women weigh less than a man and could be over the limit with that second glass of wine. So we came up with a new 6% alcohol wine product that would enable most women to have a second glass. Brilliant! Seemed like a slam dunk. Right? It was more of a slam!

The many complaints we received went something like this: “Now you’re making me drink twice as much!” and “Why do I have to pay the same price for half the alcohol?” Oops! We thought folks wanted to consume less alcohol to abide by the reduced allowable limit, but we were very wrong about that.

What Can We Do?

The chapter goes on with even more mistakes, but we don’t want to spoil it for you. You can hear Hollywood actors performing the mistakes to sound effects and music in the audiobook.

You can also learn how to cop an attitude about mistakes that will take you and your company to the next level. You will see how when management grants permission to make mistakes, people become more creative and help improve your company. Get a good laugh and a few good lessons from our mistakes! And make the most out of yours!

Please be our guest to a free chapter from our new theatrically performed audio play and enjoy the show!

Entrepreneurship Personal Development Women In Business

Build Engagement and Loyalty by Sharing the Wealth

Post author By MIchael and Bonnie Harvey
Post date September 10, 2020
No Comments on Build Engagement and Loyalty by Sharing the Wealth

Probably the hardest lesson in entrepreneurship is learning how to hire. Sure, you can comb over resumes for the skillsets and experience you are looking for, but what do you look for beyond that? What is the key tell that promises loyalty and engagement?

Beyond Skillsets

We learned the hard way. After years of hiring for skill sets and having problems with engagement and turnover, we finally got it. Entrepreneurs can’t afford to hire anyone who doesn’t have the entrepreneurial spirit themselves. In other words, employees have to bet their salary on their own production. Anything short of that has the owner paying for attendance. And with that program you can expect to hear, “I was there. Pay me!”

So, what do you look for when you are a cash-starved entrepreneur and you can’t afford to just pay for attendance? What do you look for when you must pay for production? How do you know you have the right candidate?

In Chapter 9 of our Business Audio Theatre production of The Barefoot Spirit you can join us as experience actors play the parts in telltale scenes that demonstrate some answers to these critical questions. The chapter is aptly entitled, “A Smaller Slice of a Larger Pie.”

Mastering Michigan!

When Barefoot Cellars needed a territorial sales manager for Michigan, several qualifying candidates balked at the job. Even though the job paid a guaranteed base and had a commission structure with no limit, several candidates complained.

One immediately whined, “I can’t live on that guarantee.” We did not expect him to. We wanted him to be enticed by the big commission we offered. So we stood up, shook his hand, and said, “Thanks for applying at Barefoot! Good luck with your job search!” and showed him the door. Another complained right away, “That guarantee of yours is just too low.” You guessed it, same bum’s rush out the door.

A third candidate didn’t start with even asking about the compensation package. Instead, he opened the conversation with, “You know, you’re getting your butt kicked in Michigan …but I can turn it around!” He went on to describe his skills, experience, and contacts. 15 minutes into the interview he finally asks, “So what does the compensation package look like anyway?” We told him, “It’s a flat guarantee with a no-limit commission plan,” to which he said with surprise, “No limit?!”

We talked more about the market and the problems he saw. At one point, he interrupted himself mid-sentence and said “Are you sure there’s no limit?” After the third time, he asked about the no-limit commission, we interrupted him and said, “We are sure there is no limit and you are so hired!” He single-handedly built the Barefoot business from scratch and made it one of the fastest-selling wines in Michigan!

You see, what we had finally learned after 10 years in business was that it wasn’t enough to offer a big prize for performance. You had to wait until you found the candidate that was looking for the big prize, because they were a performer and were underpaid and overworked, and maybe, taken for granted in their last job! We found him! His nickname was “No-Limit Phil.”

Save Mono Lake!

This chapter is packed with stories like that, demonstrating the Barefoot Spirit approach to hiring and relating to staff in general. In one episode Michael and Bonnie are hiking along in a redwood park when an unlikely thing happens. Their cell phone rings. It’s amazing that they even had coverage, let alone forgot to lose the device in the car while they were embracing nature.

A startled Michael answered while Bonnie complained, “I thought we agreed to never bring those **** things out on a hike!” It was Randy, their National Sales Manager. “I’ve got to quit!” he said. “I’ve just been given a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a docent in my favorite part of the world, Mono Lake!”

Tune in to find out how we handled that situation to create a win-win-win for Barefoot, Randy, and Mono Lake. Discover how we not only gave Randy the opportunity, but also saved his job, became Mono Lake’s favorite wine, and helped save Mono Lake itself!

Taming Truckers!

One day, a young woman who had worked for Barefoot for only a year or two walked into Michael’s office and announced, “You need a Traffic Manager!” “A what?” Michael said. He had no idea what she was talking about.

She went on, “We’re going to lose a lot of sales in Minnesota due to out of stocks. A truck from our Minnesota distributer just drove all the way out here to California and got turned away by our warehouse manager because he did not have an appointment and drove all the way back to Minnesota …EMPTY!” “What?!” Michael said in disbelief. She explained that the manager was loading 4 other trucks who had appointments and couldn’t fit him in.

Find out how this young lady was given permission to create and occupy a new job to basically babysit the truckers to follow procedures and maximize their loads. Find out how this significantly improved Barefoot’s sales. And find out how this young woman overcame the initial verbal abuse from the truckers and ultimately had them sending her flowers and candy! It’s all there and more in Chapter 9!

Tune In!

You will hear and experience entertaining stories and learn valuable lessons as Hollywood actors play the parts to demonstrate how to treat your people, complete with sound effects, and an original musical score.

Today, we advise our clients, “If you are paying your people right, the producers can’t afford to leave, and the non-producers can’t afford to stay.” And then we add, “Always take a smaller slice of a larger pie!”

Please takes us along on your next road trip and enjoy a free chapter on us.

Entrepreneurship Leadership Personal Development

Road Trips Are Back! Take Audio Theatre Along for the Ride!

Post author By MIchael and Bonnie Harvey
Post date August 20, 2020
No Comments on Road Trips Are Back! Take Audio Theatre Along for the Ride!

When we started Barefoot Wine, we spent a lot of time in our car. We live north of San Francisco but had customers all over the country. We would often drive south to Los Angeles, San Diego, north to Portland and Seattle, and east to Reno, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. We couldn’t afford to fly due to extremely tight funds and we couldn’t take the 10 cases of wine samples we needed on board. So we would spend 7-19 hours in the car! What to do?

Turning Miles into Stories

In those days, audiobooks and courses were on cassette tapes, and every dashboard had a slot that would play them over the car’s sound system. We would entertain and educate ourselves with stories of the great entrepreneurs of the last century. And we’d listen to the latest tips from Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, and Tony Robbins, hoping to remember them and use them at our next presentation down the road.

We liked the stories the best because they were theme centric and lasted for 5-10 hours, perfect for a road trip.

Pandemic Brings Back the Road Trip!

Fast forward 30 years and we are in the clutches of a pandemic. Folks don’t want to expose themselves in airports or be trapped on a plane for hours. The big cruise liners are also perceived as somewhat of a risk. So how do folks get away in the age of the Corona Virus? Road Trip!

But these are long travel times, 7-19 hours like we used to drive on a regular basis. Once again, your car is your classroom and audio theatre. This is the perfect time and place to discover or rediscover pre-recorded audio productions.

Old Time Radio to Pass the Miles

When we created our audiobook, The Barefoot Spirit, we were inspired by NPR’s Theatre of the Mind and A Prairie Home Companion with its 1940’s-style audio skits like Guy Noir Private Eye. In fact, it was on one of those long road trips across Arizona that we got the idea for Business Audio Theatre.

We love the way the actors brought the characters to life, the way the scenes unfolded in our minds, and the way sound effects and music gave an entertaining and cinematic quality to the stories. The miles flew by! The long journey became fun!

Have a Test Drive on Us!

Won’t you try out this “new” fun format and take us along with you and your family this summer? Our audio play, The Barefoot Spirit, has received multiple 5-Star reviews and was selected as one of the Top Five business books of 2020 by the Audiobook Publisher’s Association. It’s conveniently broken down into ten episodes of 30-40 minutes each, comprised of 2-3 minute scenes. The audiobook totals just over 7 hours. Totally segmentable or binge-able.

We want you to have the opportunity to “test drive” The Barefoot Spirit on your next trip. So here is the 1^st episodic chapter for FREE! If you like it, you can get the rest on any audiobook platform you favor. Happy trails! And enjoy the ride!

Best Practices Growth Human Resources Personal Development

Discriminating Against Older Applicants Is More than Illegal: It’s bad for your bottom line!

Post author By MIchael and Bonnie Harvey
Post date July 16, 2020
No Comments on Discriminating Against Older Applicants Is More than Illegal: It’s bad for your bottom line!

You’ve seen it time and time again. Job ads that say “Recent college grad”, “Digital native” or “Looking for a cultural fit”. Most of today’s recent college graduates are under 30, and most “digital natives” were born in 1980 or later. And a “cultural fit” pushes away the older folks. Do these terms discourage older applicants? Absolutely. Is it illegal? Perhaps. AARP has a fantastic article on this very subject.

Michael was recently interviewed on FOX Radio as a Workplace Cultural Expert. But he took a much different route than dwelling on enforcement issues and legalities surrounding this subject. Whether this can be deemed illegal or not, whether liability is strong enough or not, the fact of the matter is simple–it’s plain bad business! Here are a handful of reasons why.

Stability

Younger staff members tend to be more temporary. Recently, we hired and trained a college grad. She said, after 18 months, “Well, I’m off to my next opportunity!” She up-and-left! So much for all of that training and the great relationships she fostered with our service providers, vendors, and customers. When we asked why, she said, “This was just my first job and I need to see if there’s anything better for me. I need to build my experience.” Older employees, on the other hand, are less likely to leave, and more likely to appreciate the job and be more stable in their social and home lives. That stability is key to earning a better ROI in terms of relationship-building and training. To put it simply – older folks are more likely to stay. Remember: Employee turnover is the number one cost of doing business.

Technical Knowledge

When we hired recent graduates, the tech they were familiar with was already obsolete. Many programs we used every day were foreign to them. We were shocked! For example, WordPress, PowerPoint, and maximization of LinkedIn and Facebook were a mystery to these hires, in addition to various other editing platforms. And for good reason – Everything is changing so fast that it’s necessary for people to be in a constant state of learning in order to maximize the use of each of these programs. So, young or old, people need to “start fresh” every few years in order to keep up. So much for the advantage of hiring a recent graduate! They need just as much training as older employees.

Soft Skills

Many older employees already have soft skills–they were raised with them. They didn’t grow up surrounded by technology, thinking that human relations were obsolete and unnecessary. Ironically, when we went to a commencement ceremony for a young friend who graduated with a master’s in engineering from Stanford, the commencement address surprised us. The Dean warned, “We, your teachers, have given you the best technical education possible. But we are concerned about you because the number one reason for tech startup failure is a lack of soft skills.” He described how these skills are essential to get the best prices, get the best credit, engage others, cooperate effectively, and make sales happen. He encouraged his students to learn them.

Experience

The best hire we ever made? A 70-year-old employee! He knew our industry’s key buyers, and he knew exactly how to get noticed at retail. He had four decades of experience! An absolute Godsend for a startup with limited knowledge of the industry. Not only did he know how to navigate on his own, but he was also experienced in teaching others. Our younger employees loved him because he was interested in their successes and endeavors. He was everyone’s go-to guy! Suddenly, our young staff gained respect with other businesses we depended on because he followed their procedures and policies. We think all of today’s older applicants should sell themselves on this: It isn’t about what they don’t know–it’s about what they do know! Businesses in the startup and buildup phases should be looking for this exact type of experience.

Sensitivity

After a tiring day of interviewing potential candidates for a receptionist position, an older applicant arrived who was in her late 60s at the time. She said, “I guess you’re wondering why you’re going to hire an older person like me to sit out front and represent your business.” She then described her 25 years of military experience working for a General. She was hired. Two years later, a middle-aged gentleman started looking at our pictures and licenses hanging up in the lobby. He didn’t say a word. He was dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda shorts, and had a camera draped over his shoulder. Was he on vacation? Was he lost? Our office wasn’t open to the public. Was he there for an appointment? Our receptionist asked politely, “Are you a supermarket buyer?” He responded, “Does it show?” She had already told our much-younger national chain manager to “Get out here right now!” This led us to get in to 26 Arizona stores, all because of her social abilities, sensitivity, and understanding our challenges. Someone with less social experience might have told our visitor that our office was closed to the public, and brought him to the door!

Conclusion

Older employees are typically more stable and have more soft skills than younger folks. Never mind the level of experience! They are more likely to be engaged, appreciative, and will work with your business at heart. Don’t let this fantastic opportunity pass you by. It will add a level of knowledge and experience to all aspects of your business. Balance the youth’s inexperience and enthusiasm with the experience and stability that only age can bring. Your bottom line will see the benefits!

For more, read on: http://c-suitenetworkadvisors.com/advisor/michael-houlihan-and-bonnie-harvey/

Best Practices Leadership Personal Development Sales

Temporary Price Cuts Need Thoughtful Wording

Post author By MIchael and Bonnie Harvey
Post date June 26, 2020
No Comments on Temporary Price Cuts Need Thoughtful Wording

WATCH OUT! Customers think any price reductions are permanent!

Especially now, CPG producers must feature a price reduction on their retail shelves. But if they want to do that, producers need to temporarily reduce their FOB prices to their distributor, then get their distributor to reduce their wholesale prices to the retailer, and finally, the retailer must reduce the retail price to their customers. If the producer sells directly to retailers, the retailer must cooperate in cutting prices for the customer.

Temporary Price Reductions

Temporary Price Reductions, or TPRs, can draw attention to your products, help you negotiate for retail displays, and score those customers who passed on your products many times before. But debuting a new product at retail with an immediate price reduction is an awful idea. Why? Because, any change back to everyday pricing would be viewed by the customer as an “increase”. They would be discouraged to continue buying your brand. So, before you employ TPR tactics, it’s essential that everyday pricing is already established for at least a month in that location.

Of course, you need periodic TPRs to bring some more attention to your products, but it’s all about how you do it. Things become more complicated when you try to affect retail shelf price reduction. For example, if you lower you FOB pricing in order to get a lower retail price, both the distributor and the retailer won’t be happy when the price returns to normal. They’ll think it’s an increase!

Protect Your Price

So how can you do all this without messing with your everyday pricing? The answer is simple: NEVER lower the price! On your invoices, always charge full price. Then, you can offer a one-time credit that’s only good under certain limitations. When you do send an invoice, do so for the full price and display the credit (if applicable). In other words, the credit could be based on volume, time, a performance factor, or a combination of any of these. For example, perhaps you’d offer a program to a retailer or distributor for their purchase during any given month, on the stipulation that they must reduce their margins that month in order to achieve 1 or 2 dollars less on the shelf. You might also require that they buy a certain amount of your products at a time, like a 5-case minimum for example. This encourages a floor display!

Protect Your Sales

Make sure to have seasonal promotion materials ready when you sell this program. This shows retailers how you’ll support your products’ displays. It’s crucial that they understand the credit you’ve given them is only available when they purchase products under your program. Be careful–don’t present your program too much longer before your promotional event, or else the retailer will wait and you might lose sales during the month before the event. This becomes tricky when you rely on the distributor’s rep to create the presentation. We suggest your salespeople, or better yet, you, do the presentations and get the buy-in from the retailer.

When you sell directly to the retailer, the credit will be seen as a one-time allowance under limited circumstances for a certain period of time. But when you offer this credit to the distributor, the retailer may think of it as a permanent price reduction. That is, unless you control the lines of communication and get your distributor to make the TPR and its conditions clear to the retailer. The last thing you want to hear is, “I paid less last month, and now you’re raising your price?!” Giving away money is not easy!

For more, read on: http://c-suitenetworkadvisors.com/advisor/michael-houlihan-and-bonnie-harvey/

Biography and History Entrepreneurship Human Resources Personal Development

The Audiobook Publishers Association Recognizes Business Audio Theatre

Post author By MIchael and Bonnie Harvey
Post date May 14, 2020
No Comments on The Audiobook Publishers Association Recognizes Business Audio Theatre

Stephen King was there for a special award of recognition. Michele Obama, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and other Hollywood stars were lauded for their narrations. And Michael and Bonnie were there to accept their medallion for Finalist in the Business/Personal Development category!

That’s right! The Barefoot Spirit made it to the finals at the 2020 Audiobook Publishers Association’s Awards competition!

Last night, tucked under the Queens Borough Bridge in Manhattan, the 2020 Audiobook Publishers Association Audie Awards Gala was presented at the elegant Gustavino’s, complete with red carpets, cameras, champagne, and celebrities. Folks were dressed to the nines to celebrate the Audiobook Publishers Association’s (APA) 25TH year in hopes that they would bring home the top awards. This was clearly a big deal for the audiobook industry and we were honored to be included with all the glitterati.

According to the MC, one in every two Americans listened to at least one audiobook last year and the industry made a whopping one billion dollars in sales. As more and more listeners discover the freedom of true mobile entertainment, audiobook growth is taking off fast.

The APA is supported mainly by the big publishers, so it was quite a compliment when a former judge in our category said, “You guys are self-published? You are very fortunate to have made it all the way to Finalist!” Along with Harpers, MacMillan, Penguin, and all the other Big Boys, here comes Michael and Bonnie’s The Barefoot Spirit, self-published by Footnotes Press, LLC. We proudly wore our finalists award medallions all evening! It appears we were the only self-published audiobook to make it to the final round!

Out of only five finalists in our category, ours was the only one that was performed and fully-casted rather than strictly narrated. We would like to think that the distinction was recognized by the Association. We are grateful that the APA has recognized the value of this pioneering initiative to convey business principles and preserve founders’ legacies with Business Audio Theatre (BAT). This acknowledgment gives a level of credibility to performed business audiobooks.

While we were in New York, we were interviewed on C-Suite TV. They were interested in the APA recognition, but more keenly focused on the potential for Business Audio Theatre when used as an onboarding tool to help increase engagement and reduce turn over. They wanted to know how this new technology could be employed to preserve a founder’s legacy and improve company culture.

Founders can’t be there forever, and they know it. Sooner or later they must turn over the reins of leadership to the next generation. They worry about their companies becoming complacent, mired in compliance, and turf battles breaking out between the increasingly specialized divisions.

Will it be “just another job” for their future employees? Would they just as soon work anywhere? Or do they identify with their new company? How can companies keep their Founder’s spirit alive? We believe the best way to convey business principles is through story. And the best way to convey story is through an audio performance that entertains and engages the listener’s imagination while it educates. And what if that listener is your company’s new hire? And what if your company’s story and principles are handed to them on day one in an MP3 format?

Having created and published an acclaimed example of BAT in The Barefoot Spirit audiobook, having perfected the process of conversion of story to audio play, and having partnered with a Hollywood production company, Sherwood Players that have actually done it, we are in a truly unique position to offer this new tool to founders and their companies.

That’s the promise of Business Audio Theatre and that’s why the audiobook industry’s recognition means so much to us. We can create a compelling onboarding tool to help other founders keep their spirit alive and preserve their company’s history. Check it out at BusinessAudioTheatre.com.

Best Practices Growth Leadership Personal Development

Increase Engagement and Reduce Turnover Using Business Audio Theatre

Post author By MIchael and Bonnie Harvey
Post date May 5, 2020
No Comments on Increase Engagement and Reduce Turnover Using Business Audio Theatre

When the cement is wet, you can move it with a trowel, but when the cement is hard, you’ll need a jackhammer! No illustration could be more apropos than what happens during the orientation or on-boarding process. When you hire that candidate, their first few days on the job, what they are told, what they learn, and the culture they experience will be way more influential in their future performance, understanding, and attitude than anything that is conveyed at a later date.

1st Impressions Last Forever

Why? Because that’s when they are the most impressionable. That’s when they form their judgments about your company, it’s purpose, and the expectations you have about their behavior. That’s when they get the answers to all their questions, spoken or internalized. And that’s when they make assumptions to answer those unasked questions. And those assumptions can be wrong!

They can harbor an inaccurate view of what you think may be obvious. You may not find out for years until suddenly they do something that reveals their misconceptions. Ouch! Suddenly they make a decision that is counterproductive and hurts sales, relationships, or your budget.

Or suddenly, after you just get them up to speed and they finally solidify important relationships with key players, they quit!

The Missing Link

Why didn’t they identify with your company? Why did they leave? We think something was missing in the onboarding process. Sure, they got the manual, went to the training sessions, know where the forms are and who their go-to person is. But something was missing – something important!

What did you give them when “the cement was wet” that gave them a compelling reason to identify with your company? What did you give them that gave them the level of appreciation they need to be loyal, excited, and engaged?

And, remember, people can’t identify unless they can see themselves, their aspirations and their beliefs in what is being presented.

Founders Can’t Be There Forever

Having built a company ourselves from the ground up and having virtually no turnover for the last 7 years, we know from experience that employees have to understand and appreciate what it took to build the company. They need to hear what the founder’s goals were, the challenges they faced, and the ways they overcame them. Employees have to believe that the company they work for is making a difference in the world beyond the mercantile goods and services they provide.

Sure, there are books written about leadership and culture (we even wrote one). There are volumes on team building filled with real gems. But what happens to the company after the founders leave? What happens after the divisions of labor begin to degenerate into turf wars? What happens when there is no longer anything special about your company and your employees could be happy working anywhere? The answer, unfortunately, is disengagement and turnover.

The Power of Story

During the on-boarding process, new hires are expected to read a ton of stuff. Some of that stuff may even be the company history starting with the founders in a garage. This is all great stuff. …if they will actually read it, retain it, and act on it.

One way that will actually get through to your new employees is an onboarding tool that we have made available to founders and their companies to build this identification with your company. We call it Business Audio Theatre. When folks are hired, they are given an MP3 audiobook that chronicles the founder’s goals, challenges, and successes. It is presented in a compelling theatrical drama with actors voicing roles in action-packed scenes that recall historical events with outcomes that educate as they entertain. It’s an immersive experience complete with sound effects, interviews, and an original musical score.

The founders are portrayed as people not unlike themselves who have aspirations and setbacks, but who persevere and ultimately create the company and job now enjoyed by so many. Unlike all that written and video material new hires typically receive, this Business Audio Theatre format does not tether them to a screen or a book. They are free to multitask while they are in their homes or while jogging and commuting. As the critics are saying: “The story comes alive! It’s 3-D audio!”

When They Identify, They Engage

Now your new employee can easily identify with the goals and values of the founders. They feel like they are part of the movement. They want to participate because they identify and appreciate the company! You have just brought the story to life for them in a convenient, compelling, and memorable way! Increase engagement and reduce turn-over using Business Audio Theatre! We have done it, and we can help you do it, too!

Personal Development Sales

Is Your CPG Startup Ready for Outside Sales Reps?

Post author By MIchael and Bonnie Harvey
Post date April 15, 2020
No Comments on Is Your CPG Startup Ready for Outside Sales Reps?

Every Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) business comes to the point where the founder asks themselves—” Am I ready to hire a salesperson?” In order to find an answer, you must ask yourself a few more questions:

Do you imagine replacing yourself in your territory?

Because outside sales reps are generally based in their own territories, replacing yourself would likely require a salesperson who’s already in your area. Ideally, you’d introduce them to each of your accounts with confidence that they’d maintain and grow the relationships you’ve cultivated in that territory.

Do you imagine yourself opening a new territory with your new salesperson?

The ideal rep for a certain territory would come from that territory. Sales representatives may have worked for many different brands throughout their careers, but they’ve probably done so in the same area.

Financially speaking, are you ready to hire a new sales rep?

And by “ready”, we mean–can you afford it? Do you have the funds to pay the rep’s base salary and expenses for their sales? If you do, for how long? Can you cover the bills long enough to “prime the pump”, so to speak? And when will you be able to break even?

Do you think it’ll take 6 months or more–in other words, within 6 months they will earn more than it costs to pay them, their expenses, and commissions? Beware! This could be a dangerous assumption and requires delicate handling. It has to do with your salesperson’s performance in developing and maintaining your brand’s image in their territory. In our case, we planned on having a year to break even in new territories. We were surprised by accounts, reps, and territories who were able to break even, and make a profit at that, much sooner!

So what do you need in your artillery before you try to commit to a new territory sales rep? Well, what’s the base salary rate in that territory? And what kinds of expenses are you likely to expect? All of these things vary from territory to territory, so it’s vital that you do your homework! Ask other industry folks in that territory. But heed warning! If your salary is too high, your new sales rep might not be incentivized enough. If it’s too low, you run the risk of not attracting an effective salesperson. Ideally, you will guarantee a commission structure to your employees that is based on growth, sales, and profitability.

In our case, we identified the key accounts we wanted to be in–the ones we thought would help us generate a profit the fastest, and the ones who we thought would help our new salespeople get commission sooner. The “low-hanging fruit”, in other words. Then, we hired the best rep to fit those accounts. Getting a referral from buyers was a huge help in finding the best reps. If we hired their referral, we got into their account sooner! But in order for the sales rep to keep the account, they had to perform.

Some people might think that they need to have enough sales in their current territory before expanding. This isn’t always the case. But it is always the case that you need to be able to afford the basics in a new territory for a certain amount of time without income. The shorter, the better!

Ultimately, the business owner will have to give their own territory to a replacement. But when? The answer to that question has to do with the effort the owner wants to put in. They can either keep their sales position and hire a CEO, or they decide to oversee new territories, training new salespeople and holding them accountable for their work. Yes, there will be turnover. The owner will be taken away from their accounts at one point or another–this is just the nature of business growth. It might seem like a great idea to replace yourself at first, but it might not be financially sensible.

What do you need to provide in order to compete with other CPG companies for your sales reps?

Of course, you’ll have a hard time matching your competitors’ established benefits packages when you’re new. But your offer will still have a very attractive component–the chance for the sales reps to build a brand in their own territory. Even the “Territory Brand Manager” title indicates that this salesperson has reached a focal point in his or her career.

Based on your reps’ achievement of certain metrics, try to negotiate for future benefits. The job title and the opportunity to be responsible for building a brand will offset the concession if they are an entrepreneurial, confident go-getter! You want this type of employee anyway!

Whatever you negotiate, there’s no doubt you’ll be out the “guarantee” or base salary, and expenses. So start saving! And get an accountant to give you all the details for that specific territory in terms of income and cost of sales. You might be pleasantly surprised to learn that some territories will return much more quickly on your sales rep investment than others!

Conclusion

When it comes to financially supporting the decision to hire outside sales reps, there are multiple moving parts to consider. There’s no one right way to do things. The only thing you can do is your homework–and be careful! Your salespeople represent you, your brand, and your products in a new territory. Some risk-taking will be necessary, so start calculating and proceed “All ahead slow!”

For more, read on: http://c-suitenetworkadvisors.com/advisor/michael-houlihan-and-bonnie-harvey/

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