Q.  In the FAQ called “How Can I Improve Sales”, you talked about Way to Wealth Formulas.  I now understand that I can’t just “have more customers” – I have to increase my Marketing Leads or my Close Rate – but how do I improve my close rate?

A.  Recall the Customer Formula, which says this:

Marketing Leads  X  Effectiveness Rate  =  Customers

Assume that you have 100 Marketing Leads.  If your Effectiveness Rate (or Close Rate)…

There are several tools you can use to monitor social media sites and what people are saying about your brand. One great tool is Social Mention. Social Mention, is a social media search engine that searches user-generated content such as Twitter, Facebook and Blogs.

You can sign-up for free and set up keywords or phrases that you would like to have monitored. Anytime those keywords are mentioned you will receive an email…

Q.  So, how?

A.  It’s been said that low sales is the number one threat to a business.  Not lease expenses, not staff turnover, not the economy, not inventory carrying costs, not collections – but sluggish sales.  But, is this really the right question to ask?

Q.  You just answered me with a question.

A.  Yep.  For good reason.  Even though your biggest threat as a franchise owner is low sales, you can’t just “improve” or “fix” the problem. …

It’s no surprise that now in days whenever a customer has a negative experience with a brand or product, they share their disappointment on social media sites such as Twitter. As a franchisee and franchisor it’s still important to acknowledge your customers and respond. The important key here is to take the conversation offline. This can be done in a simple way, such as tweeting back “Please email us at (insert email address) so we can resolve your concern immediately” or “Please contact our…