Outsource Medical Billing services- Should a Physician Outsource Medical Billing Services

A physician’s decision to outsource medical billing services is a complicated one. This article addresses the pros and cons of this very difficult yet important decision.

Keywords:
Medical Billing, Medical billing service, medical billing service for physicians, doctor, pathology billing, radiology billing, anesthesiology billing, pain management billing, ambulatory surgical center billing.

Should a physician outsource medical billing services?

This is a very difficult decision for any physician and partially boils down to this or her own personal ideology and comfort level. Hospital-based physicians will almost always be better off outsourcing because of the office related expenses that they would not otherwise incur. As the owner of medical billing service you may think I’m naturally biased towards outsourcing. I can assure you that this is not the case. Physicians who are overly controlling, uncomfortable or mis-trusting toward billing services are nearly impossible to administer. I don’t want anything to do with those types of physicians but I completely respect and understand their point of view. Setting all ideology aside I would like to delve into the pros and cons of this difficult and complicated decision.

1. I am a physician who is very interested in the business aspect of medicine and I do not mind spending my valuable time managing the medical billing aspect of my practice.

Clearly, the best way to do your billing is to do it personally. Obviously, doing it yourself is probably not an option but if you’re willing to spend the time and have the interest I would recommend that you do your own billing. Keep in mind that most billing service owners and certainly our employees have limited medical backgrounds. Physicians who study CPT, regularly attend billing seminars and keep up to date on industry changes are the ultimate medical billing gurus in my view.

2. I am a physician who has absolutely no time or interest in the medical billing aspect of my practice. I am completely reliant upon my office manager and billing staff.

Unfortunately, most physicians are in this position. Even if they were interested in keeping up with all the changes and elements of medical billing the practical reality is that there is absolutely no time. Let’s face it; time is your most valuable asset. It’s sort of like mowing your own lawn. You’d be way better off financially seeing patients for three hours on Saturday morning. I believe the following information will dramatically help with your decision to outsource your billing or continue to do it yourself and with future decisions in the ever-changing business aspect of medicine.

The pros and cons of outsourcing your medical billing services.

I would like to preface this article with a couple of obvious but important points. If you have a system of controls, keep an open mind about the competence of your office manager, you’ve got an excellent computer system, proper information systems and your office is doing a superb job at collecting your money, then by all means do not make any changes. Conversely if you’re planning to outsource your billing make sure you hire quality firm. I’ll spend some time at the end of this article discussing this further.

Most leading experts agree that it costs about 4.5% of net collections to perform the billing function within a physician’s office. Incidentally, this is close to my actual cost as well.

Theoretically, a billing service should be able collect more money than a physician’s office because it is our core competency. The question is how much more? This is why I focus on how to choose a billing service at the end of this article.

The numbers

A. Lets just do the math in a theoretical model.

We’ll base our numbers on a practice whose total gross receivables are $100,000 per month. Obviously, this is an overly simplistic model designed to quantify the aggregate cost and or opportunity cost of the medical billing component only.

Current Aggregate Billing Expenses

In-house expense

Total gross revenue $100,000

Current billing expense $4,500

(4.5%) —-

Net Revenue $95,500

Outsourced Billing Expense

Total gross revenue $100.000

Current billing service exp. $7,000

(7.0% net collections) —-

Net Revenue $93,000

Net cost increase with outsourcing = $2,500.00

As you can see in this,” all things being equal” theoretical model your practice would incur a $2,500 decrease in net revenue with the implementation of a billing outsource strategy. Keep in mind that this model does not address other less tangible issues such as your reduced payroll, computer expenses, ect. In reality the net cost could be substantially less than $2,500. Many physicians will perceive this as a small price to pay while others will consider it to be cost prohibitive.

5% theoretical increase in gross revenue with outsourced billing

Total gross revenue $105,000 (5% increase)

Billing service expense $7,350

(7% net collections) —-

Net revenue $97,650

$95,500 – $97,650 = $2,150.00 increase in net revenue.

As you can see from this model with a 5% increase in collections your net revenue will increase $2,150.00 with the added expense of the billing service. Keep in mind that a 5% increase in gross collections is actually quite conservative and should easily be obtainable by quality billing service.

Intangibles

B. A billing service should be able to provide you with a substantial reduction in your day-to-day aggravations such as practice management software issues, fewer employees, hassle of hiring competent employees, less health insurance, less training, ECT..ect. Conversely you will however lose some control over your practice. If the billing service does not collect more money your expenses will increase. It’s up to you to determine whether or not the increased expense is offset by decreased aggravation.

security

C. A billing service should be able to increase your security levels by creating a system of checks and balances. As a former police officer I can assure you that crime statistics indicate most embezzlement/fraud/theft occurs from within. During an investigation a store manager for Sears and Roebuck Co. once told me,” our customers take it out piecemeal but our employees take it out in wheel barrels” This logic also applies to a doctor’s office. A billing service can provide an extra layer of protection because there is a system of independent checks and balances. Typically billing services are fairly large businesses with strict internal controls. My organization Medi-Bill Inc. Operates internally similar to a banking institution with the way we handle funds. It is highly unlikely that the ownership of a reputable medical billing firm would risk the consequences of committing fraud against a client.

Conversely, the issue once again boils down to control. Many physicians are understandably quite unsettled at having their checks and correspondence mailed directly to the billing service. Further compounding this dilemma is,” what will happen to the checks and correspondence after the billing service agreement is terminated?”(Again, we will discuss alternatives to this at the end of the article)

Technology

D. State-of-the-art practice management software is an extremely expensive investment. If you’ve already invested in a high quality computer system I do not believe outsourcing your billing would make much sense financially unless your computer vendor is charging outrageous support fees. If you’re considering purchasing a computer system or a medical record management system my favorite vendor who we’ve been working with for over 15 years is Office Management Solutions (OMS) based in Tampa Florida. The owner’s name is John Peake and he is by far the most honest and reputable computer vendor I have ever worked with. OMS can be reached at 813-963-5582 or www.oms-online.com.

If you need to update your system, purchase a new system or your support fees are getting out of hand this may be an opportune time to consider outsourcing your medical billing services.

Financial security

F. Many physicians, for obvious reasons do not want their office managers/staffers to have any in-depth knowledge of how much money the practice is making. A reputable and properly run billing service can create this level of financial security. The best case scenario is for your staffers to only see your expenses and have only a limited understanding of the revenue being generated. This can also be accomplished internally by making and recording your own deposits. If you’re going to do your own billing I must emphasize the importance of financial security. You must create a system of financial security. If you don’t have the time to personally open your mail and make the deposits you are definitely a candidate for outsourcing. Many banks offer a “lockbox” where you can direct your checks and correspondence. Bank lockbox services are generally quite pricey. They usually charge about .25 per copy. You may also opt to take out your own P.O. Box located adjacent to your billing company. This way you still maintain control of your checks and correspondence.

Collection agencies

G. Many billing services own or have affiliate relationships with collection agencies. You’ll most definitely want to avoid this situation. Make sure your billing service provides you with a monthly report containing proper information on delinquent accounts enabling your office manager to properly send the information to a collection agency of your choice. In my opinion billing services that own collection agencies or establish close affiliate relationships with them are unethical and should be avoided at all cost. Even though it is nearly impossible to find a collection agency that does not have relationships with medical billing services the point I’m trying to make is to be sure that your billing service is independent and you have the freedom to select a collection agency of your choice. This relationship presents a scenario whereby the billing service can simply go after the easy to collect accounts and allow the more difficult but still collectible ones to slip into the hands of a collection agency who obviously charge a much higher percentage of collections. Again, it’s easy to see how a billing service can facilitate or erode your sense of control. The most reputable collection agency I’ve dealt with is a company called Collection Information Bureau (CIB). I’ve been doing business with them for years and they have never attempted to establish an affiliate relationship with my company. CIB can be reached at 1-800-231-3514, contact sandy Lopez.

Should I outsource my billing checklist: If you answer yes to most of the following questions then you should probably consider outsourcing?

· Is your overall collection rate declining?

· Is your accounts receivable too high?

· Are you experiencing an increased number of denied claims?

· Is your overall frustration level regarding your billing/business office very high?

· Are you facing a major capital investment in new hardware or software?

· Are your computer support fees to high?

· Are you having a difficult time keeping or hiring experienced billing staff?

· Are you spending too much time on the business aspect of medicine?

· Are you concerned that your staff or office manager has knowledge of your income?

· Are you completely reliant upon your office manager?

· Are you planning to expand your practice?

· Do you believe that your practices cost structure is too high?

· Do you have several employees performing tasks that could be handled by a single more experienced manager?

· Is your computer system obsolete?

· Are hardware, software, and information technology disrupting the operation of your practice?

How do I select a billing service?

1. The service should fit or complement the size of your actual practice. Try to get a basic idea of the size of the firm. A solo practice will most likely have greater success with a small to medium-sized billing firm. Obviously, a solo family practitioner would probably not be very well served by a publicly traded firm.
2. Avoid long-term binding contracts. You should be free to terminate your agreement any time within 30 days written notice. The agreement should clearly specify what each side will do for the other. Make sure the agreement assures that upon termination you’ll receive a highly detailed account receivable report [listed by individual patient] .
3. Ask for references and call the other providers!
4. Inquire/investigate the actual owner of the company. Ask to speak with the owner directly.
5. Avoid firms who offer too many different types of service. Medical billing is a very highly specialized field. Companies who offer, collection agency services, payroll, financial consulting, tax consulting, malpractice insurance, marketing services etc. etc. are not in my view focused enough on what they’re there to do. Collect your money!
6. Ask other physicians. Keep open mind about this one because physicians who are happy with their billing company do not necessarily want them to grow and generally like to keep a low profile on this issue.
7. Is the billing service for sale? Try to ascertain whether or not the firm has recently been sold. In your contract/agreement you should request to be notified within 30 days of the pending sale. In my experience billing services are constantly being bought and sold. Sometimes the acquisition is a positive thing but quite often the merger/acquisition can be very detrimental. You should at least be notified and given ample time to make a proper decision on whether you’ll stay with the new firm or select another.
8. Where will your checks and correspondence be mailed? This delicate and important issue need not be as complicated as it appears. Many physicians for obvious reasons are reluctant to allow checks and correspondence to be forwarded directly to their billing service. Some reputable, high-quality billing services will not even provide services to clients who insist upon having the checks and correspondence mailed to them directly. I’d like to spend a few moments on this important issue and explain the ramifications of exactly where your checks and correspondence will be mailed. Maintaining the integrity of your accounts receivable is crucial! If your office routinely fails to properly mail copies of checks and correspondence to your billing company your practice could be in grave danger of losing control of the accounts receivable. If your account receivable is to maintain any semblance of financial integrity it is crucial that billing service employees do not spend valuable time and effort following up on claims that have already paid and not properly forwarded to them. Understandably, your service may even look upon this as an intentional effort to reduce their commissions. Again, bank lock boxes provide a sound alternative to this dilemma. Some practices solve this problem by directing all checks and correspondence to a P.O. Box keeping EOB’s separate from other corporate mail. The checks and correspondence are mailed to the billing service,” unopened” biweekly. This is an excellent compromise and creates a system of control. There are many other possible options but the important point to remember is that ONE entity must be completely responsible for the validity and integrity of your EOB’s.
9. Make sure all checks and correspondence are issued under your tax identification number and made payable to you! Make sure your contract/agreement specifies that the billing service will not countersign or attempt to countersign your checks and correspondence.
10.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this article please do not hesitate to contact me at david@usemedibill.com.

This article was written by David Duncan, president and founder of Medi-Bill Inc.

www.usemedibill.com

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What On Earth Are Trade Exhibitions For?

As a Sydney-based exhibition designer, Ove Prado often conducts his own survey of trade shows. He tries to work out, from what he sees, the purpose that each stand is playing in that company’s marketing strategy. “All too often”, he says, “the message is confusing and some designs actually drive customers to walk straight past”

Renting space at a trade exhibition, designing a stand, having it built and staffing it for the duration of the exhibition shares some of the essen…

Keywords:
online booking, event managment,booking mananger, booking, registration

As a Sydney-based exhibition designer, Ove Prado often conducts his own survey of trade shows. He tries to work out, from what he sees, the purpose that each stand is playing in that company’s marketing strategy. “All too often”, he says, “the message is confusing and some designs actually drive customers to walk straight past”

Renting space at a trade exhibition, designing a stand, having it built and staffing it for the duration of the exhibition shares some of the essence of running other types of event but differs in some significant features.

To begin with, your audience is only partially captive. They may choose to attend the exhibition but, in the vastness of an exhibition hall, unless you have marketed your presence effectively, they could pass you by in favor of more visible, glamorous, noisy, exciting stands.

If and when they descend on your stand, their time is precious. There may be 20 or 30 providers they have decided to test out in their day. This means you may have 15 to 20 minutes of their time if you have the staff to deal with them and other visitors simultaneously.

Your potential clients may also come to you with either a very specific problem to solve or no problem at all, just general curiosity. You have to be ready to handle almost anything. You can’t prepare a single script as you can with a series of presentations, so your people have got to be gifted ad-libbers.

Working out the purpose of a trade stand

As with any event, deciding to exhibit at a trade show starts with the germ of an idea somewhere. It may be that your organization has always taken a stand at this particular show or this may be the first time you have cut your teeth on this audience. What you expect to achieve through your stand and your presence at the show depends on your answers to several important questions.

• Is this an opportunity to launch an exciting new product or service?

• Is this a showcase for your existing range of products or services?

• Will you be expecting to meet mostly new potential customers?

• Will you be expecting to meet predominantly existing customers?

• Do you expect to take orders on the stand?

• Will the stand be an information only exhibit?

• Are you planning to position your organization against the competition?

• Will your stand be about image or substance?

If your answer to all of the above is “Yes!”, then be very careful. By attempting to achieve too much with your presence at an exhibition, you may run into the problem of confusion and complexity. Like any marketing activity you must be clear about what it is you are offering.

Ove’s advice to trade show exhibitors is “Remember that over a quarter of people who attend trade shows will actually formalize an order while they are there. Does your stand say “We’re friendly – talk to us!”"

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Rate Your Meetings to Predict Your Business

Most executives resign themselves to attending bad meetings. Here’s a quick check on the effectiveness of your meetings.

Keywords:
effective meetings, bad meetings, business meeting, facilitation, steve kaye, facilitator, leadership, one great meeting

Most leaders want to improve their business. After all, these improvements lead to increased profits through greater productivity and efficiency.

Sometimes clues to important improvements lay hidden in events that everyone takes for granted.

For example, how well do you score on the following quiz about your meetings?

* How much time do you spend in meetings?
0% – - | – - 25% – - | – - 50% – - | – - 75% – - | – - 100%

* How productive are your meetings?
0% (terrible) – - | – - 25% – - | – - 50% – - | – - 75% – - | – - 100% (effective)

* What do meetings cost your business?

* How much do meetings earn for your business?

* What would you work on if you spent less time in meetings?

My surveys show that (on average) people spend 40% of their time in meetings that they rate 50% effective. That translates to wasting 20% of their time in meetings.

This is equivalent to spending a full day each week doing nothing. It also represents a monstrous lost opportunity because that day could be spent working on things that make money for the business.

But most executives dismiss meetings as just another business activity. They say, “It’s okay, I’ve learned to live with it.”

In fact however, fixing their meetings represents the most significant improvement that they could make on their business. Call if you want to improve your meetings.

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Merchant Services Account

Can a Merchant Services Account really help your company to grow? Dozens of satisfied business owners claim it can, and they eagerly support this type of service for use with many kinds of companies and enterprises. Basically, a merchant account will allow you to collect credit card payments from your customers in a variety of ways. You’ve probably heard all about these from other company owners in your area, but if not, here is a basic rundown of what to expect.

Getting …

Keywords:
Merchant Services Account

Can a Merchant Services Account really help your company to grow? Dozens of satisfied business owners claim it can, and they eagerly support this type of service for use with many kinds of companies and enterprises. Basically, a merchant account will allow you to collect credit card payments from your customers in a variety of ways. You’ve probably heard all about these from other company owners in your area, but if not, here is a basic rundown of what to expect.

Getting approved for a Merchant Services Account means that your company will be able to accept credit card payments. You can collect these in several interesting ways, depending on the nature of your business and your clientele. If you operate a retail shop or a restaurant, for example, you can set up a credit card processor onsite in the checkout area to receive payments from your customers. On the other hand, if you deliver home-baked goodies to customers at lunchtime in their business offices, you can take along a wireless unit to collect payments while making the delivery. All transactions can be concluded at the point of purchase, leaving your time free to do more valuable things than collect back checks or send out monthly statements.

A Merchant Services Account can help you set up a digital credit card payment program. For example, you can arrange for customers to call a toll-free number, listen to a menu of choices before pressing the telephone keypad number that corresponds with their reason for calling, and shop for products that are described briefly on the phone in a pre-recorded message. If they purchase anything, they can pay for it promptly with a credit card by punching in the requisite account numbers. Your customers will love the ease with which they can call your company, shop without coming into the store, and make payments without the exact amount of cash.

Opening a Merchant Services Account also can equip you with additional technology, like a pager, a wireless phone, or a debit and e-check processor. You can reduce the amount of help you will need from employees by relying more on technology to help you run your business. One of the most expansive credit card payment options is to set up a Website that represents your company’s business. You can promote the latest products or sales, list prices, include links to related sites, and let customers make purchases that they can pay with a credit card right at the site that operates in real time. Your lender will coordinate the payment-processing program so that the amount paid by your customer will be deposited directly in your company’s bank account.

There is no need to keep on doing business the old fashioned way when you can easily upgrade to an e-commerce structure. Costs are manageable, and benefits are noticeable in short order. Ask your banker, a colleague, or an Internet Website for details about how you can apply for benefits that will help your company become all it can be with a Merchant Services Account.

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Many Kinds Of Banks – Many Kinds Of Accounts

Sometimes looking into opening an account or accounts in banks can be confusing. There are so many types of banks and bank accounts! Which banks are right for you to open anaccount in? Which types of accounts do you need to open? Below are some simple explanations of several types of banks and the accounts you can open. One will surely be right for you!

There are many kinds of banks:

1. Savings Banks – these banks can also be called “Thrifts”, and are businesses that ar…

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Sometimes looking into opening an account or accounts in banks can be confusing. There are so many types of banks and bank accounts! Which banks are right for you to open anaccount in? Which types of accounts do you need to open? Below are some simple explanations of several types of banks and the accounts you can open. One will surely be right for you!

There are many kinds of banks:

1. Savings Banks – these banks can also be called “Thrifts”, and are businesses that are for-profit. Savings Banks take deposits of money, invest that money, and pay the depositor interest out of the money made from those investments. Some Savings Banks give credit to depositors.

2. Credit Unions – these banks are non-profit financial institutions. A Credit Union is owned and controlled by those doing business there. Membership is needed to get into a Credit Union, normally determined by where the person works, their location, or possibly where the go to church.

3. Commercial Banks – these banks used to only deal with businesses, but have extended their services to individuals. Commercial banks offer individuals most of the same services as other types of banks.

4. Savings & Loans – these banks usually provide savings accounts. Money deposited into these banks is then loaned out to local residents in the community, normally for home loans.

5. Investment Banks – these banks do just what the name says…they invest. Investment Banks buy and sell stocks and bonds and give investment advice to its clients. These banks do not accept deposits, make loans, and are not insured by the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Company).

There are many kinds of accounts:

1. Savings account – this type of account is probably the most basic account offered by banks. You deposit money into a savings account and earn interest on that deposit based on the APR, or Annual Percentage Rate.

2. Checking account – this type of account allows for depositing, withdrawal, and the writing of ‘checks’ to pay bills and for purchases. Many banks now offer ATM or debit cards along with the standard checkbook when you open a checking account.

3. Certificate of Deposit – this type of account, also known as a CD, is for deposit only. You don’t touch the money deposited in a CD for an agreed upon amount of time, ranging from 6 months to several years, and you will earn a guaranteed amount of interest. If you do withdraw the money before the agreed upon date, many banks will charge you a fee.

4. Money Market account – this type of account is similar to a savings account. The interest rate of a money market account is higher than the traditional savings account, but the minimum balance is typically $10,000 or more!

These are the basic kinds of banks and accounts available. Look around, and shop around, for a bank that is right for you.

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Management Basics. Enjoy the Perks !!

A “Carreer” in managementoffers many benefits.
What is not commonly understood is that most of the basic concepts of management are actually basic simple common sense .
And tha t most of the management types you will work with are idiots.
Learn the basics of management and you will stead fast
Put in your time in and Enjoy the Perks .

Keywords:
management , promotion , adancement , career

“Management” is an umbrella that covers a host of activities: leadership, working through others, planning, organizing, communicating, controlling, and making decisions, to name a few. How can you grasp all of these things? Fortunately, you don’t have to.

The basis of effective management tactics activity is to keep control of a situation without enough information, assets, or power to justify that control. That, as it happens, is also the essence of management.

In some ways management needs no introduction. Most of us do it one way or another every day—in families, social groups, clubs, and businesses. Management is universal; it exists whenever two or more people try to do something together. You may not notice this, however, because only mismanagement makes headlines. Planes arrive late, companies go bankrupt, orders are lost, and the Pentagon pays defense contractors several hundred dollars for parts that cost a few bucks Wal-Mart because management has somehow failed.

People become managers by several routes. Those who work for family-owned firms inherit the job. Others may have worked their way up the organization or married the boss’s son or daughter. Be especially suspicious of people who declare that they’re “born managers,” however. They can be identified by their total ignorance of management and their supreme confidence that their every decision is right. But how can you masquerade as a real manager? Very easily, as it often turns out. Few managers really take the time to clarify or analyze their objectives, actions, and motives for what they do. If you, on the other hand, spend even a fragment of your work day thinking about what you’re actually doing, you can rise above the rest of the pack. Especially if you maintain steady eye contact, dress neatly, and act sincere. In the words of George Burns, “Sincerity is everything. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”

MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

Managers perform many activities. It’s important for you to understand what each one involves so you can set goals, assign tasks, and delegate the authority to get them done right.

The major areas of a business include purchasing, production, sales, and finance. Service and retail businesses, which make no tangible product, still have a core of similar areas (minus production) that are vital to success. In fact, lots of people—especially those who sell insurance-now call services “products” to make them sound less vague and intangible. Bluffers have to understand the role of several key management activities that will help them deal with the major areas of a business successfully.

Decision Making

One of the problems with being a manager is that you have to make decisions from time to time. This can be very troublesome, because decisions can blow up in your face. But do you really have to decide? Sometimes not. If you want to sidestep a decision without looking indecisive, you can often fall back on philosophical quotations such as “Sometimes the best decision is no decision” and “If it works, don’t fix it.”

In any event, don’t be intimidated into making a decision until you’ve analyzed the problem thoroughly.
Most panic decisions deal with symptoms of the problem and overlook the problem itself. If your car has a flat tire tomorrow morning, you could pump it up, but a block or two down the road it’ll probably be flat again. You mistakenly treated the symptom (lack of air), when the actual problem (a hole) went unsolved. Adroit bluffers also tend to let subordinates participate in making decisions. Go down to where the problem is and ask your workers, “What do you think is wrong?” Often, after they’ve recovered from the shock of being treated like people instead of robots, they’ll tell you exactly what’s wrong because they knew it all along. It’s just that you’re the first boss who ever bothered to ask. Follow up the previous question with “What do you think we should do about it?” This may produce several solutions that are worth their weight in gold. The end result is that you’ve shifted the burden of defining problems and solving them from yourself to everybody in your work group. And, if the decision backfires, it’ll be more comforting to be able to stand up and say, “Well, we thought.. .” than to have to take all the blame yourself.

Delegating

You should be quick to delegate authority for routine decisions to subordinates. Delegation makes you look very professional. It also saves you time because you have to wrestle with only unusual, off-the-wall problems.

And how should you deal with those? Maybe the best thing to do is fall back on the suggestion offered a moment ago: call your subordinates together and have them propose what you should do. Emphasize, of course, that you’re not relinquishing your authority. You’re merely being a democratic leader who believes in lots of employee involvement. It won’t hurt to point out that the Japanese make decisions by consensus and participation, and you’re simply adopting a tried-and-true technique. It’s tough for anybody to dispute the success of the Japanese in the automobile industries these days especially in comparison to the former market leaders – the big 3 American car companies especially General Motors (GM) .

Communicating

It’s been argued that communication is one of the most valuable tricks of the management trade. Getting a simple message across the way you intended can be harder than it seems. People define words differently, have conflicting sets of priorities, and harbor hidden agendas that conspire to make communicating difficult.
One good rule of thumb is to follow the KISS technique-Keep It Simple, Stupid. Another guideline is to reject meaningless jargon. Because people write and speak to impress as well as to inform, they sometimes feel compelled to make memos and reports sound “businesslike” or profound. The result can be a pompous, indecipherable mess. If you believe you’re the target of a verbal snow job from subordinates, assert yourself by sending back a memo or report to be rewritten. This puts people on notice that you’re a no-nonsense, hard-headed manager who tells it like it is and expects others to do the same.

Accounting

Accounting is a fairly simple process. It’s mostly a blend of basic math and common sense. The information, however, is often susceptible to manipulation and several interpretations. You can take the advice of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, who said, “Success depends on knowing what not to believe in accounting.”

The term “creative accounting” is a euphemism for doctoring the books to make a company look better than it is, while “conservative accounting” makes a company look mediocre or worse. Most corporations prefer to look like heroes to stockholders and bag ladies to the IRS.

As an effective manager you may encounter a mass of incomprehensible figures can cover their confusion with such phrases as: Do you really believe this bottom line is realistic? Have you checked for a recent FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board) ruling on this? How much could this change between now and the end of the quarter? And Are you sure overhead has been allocated properly? Perhaps the best comment of all, however, is “You’ll have to simplify this so the board of directors will understand it.” That probably means that you’ll be able to understand it too.

It’s important to consider the impact of the notes at the end of accounting reports, because these can reveal situations or conditions that figures tend to hide. For example, one company discreetly admitted that it was so strapped for cash that it had borrowed on the cash surrender value of its president’s life insurance policy. Another’s report celebrated a rise in its stock price, but the cause was the death of its founder and president

He was an autocratic octogenarian well past his prime, and investors apparently believed the business was better off without him. Notes may reveal what the figures conceal. Catchy slogan, isn’t it?

Decision making , delegating , communicating as well as a simper understanding of basic accounting concepts that hold you steadfast in the turmoil of the management quagmire especially when you realize that most of your peers are incompetent .
In most cases they were promoted either for personal or family reasons or as a reward for some behavior or achievement that has little to do with the task at hand

All in all the selection process may have been totally at odds with the long term health and profitability of the firm or organization

A management career offers many benefits , Most of your collegues in the field are idiots .Enjoy the ” perks” of management

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Monsters in Meetings – Part 4, Quiet Participants

Quiet participants often have excellent ideas that can contribute to an effective meeting. Here’s how to help them open up. (This is the fourth of a seven part article on Managing Monsters in Meetings.)

Keywords:
effective meetings, bad meetings, business meeting, monsters in meetings, problem participants, facilitation, steve kaye, facilitator, leadership, one great meeting

Sometimes you have people who appear to be spectators in a meeting.

There are many reasons why someone would decline to participate. For example, the person may feel reluctant to speak out, may disagree with the approach endorsed by others in the meeting, or may be tired.

And yet, your job is to put the participants to work.

In fact, an effective meeting depends upon fair and equitable participation from everyone. Here’s how to make it easier for quiet participants to contribute.

Approach 1: Encourage participation

When you notice a quiet participant, ask for contributions by looking at the person and saying:

“How do you feel about that, Chris?”

“What results do you expect from this, Pat?”

“Chris, how will this affect you?”

Sometimes a quiet participant will test the environment with a tentative reply or a minor, safe point. Respond positively and with encouragement to any response that you receive. Then probe further to explore for more ideas.

Sometimes you can encourage quiet participants to contribute by making direct eye contact, pausing, and letting your expression say, “What do you think?”

Approach 2: Change the process

Use sequential participation (a round robin) to collect ideas. This provides quiet participants with opportunities to speak. Introduce this process by saying,

“We want to hear from everyone, so let’s use a round robin. Who wants to start?”

Use these techniques to involve all of the participants.

This is the fourth of a seven part article on Managing Monsters in Meetings.

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How To Dominate A Niche With Little Marketing Knowledge

To make tons of money online, keeping things simple is the best approach. I see many people buying this product and that product to learn the latest tips and techniques etc.

If you focus on the simple things that have worked for others, you’ll make a killing in just about any market.

Here are just some of the things you can do to be successful in just about any market.

1.) Capture leads
2.) Learn your target market
3.) Pump money back into your business

Any pers…

Keywords:
niche marketing,promote website,online marketing,internet marketing

To make tons of money online, keeping things simple is the best approach. I see many people buying this product and that product to learn the latest tips and techniques etc.

If you focus on the simple things that have worked for others, you’ll make a killing in just about any market.

Here are just some of the things you can do to be successful in just about any market.

1.) Capture leads
2.) Learn your target market
3.) Pump money back into your business

Any person who knows a thing or two about marketing knows that the money is in the list. You need to capture the names and emails of your website visitors and email them continuously.

I bet you’ve heard that a million times. That’s because it works.

Yet, if you’re poking your head around different markets you’ll see that there are many people who still don’t have an email signup form on their sites. If they do have a signup form, they have the form tucked away in some little corner where no one sees it.

If you do a search for the major keywords on your market and you find that many of the websites do not have optin forms then you know that your competitors have poor marketing skills. Having an email form is one of the most basic but effective marketing techniques ever.

The second step is to learn about your target market. That’s because you need to know what buttons to push when it comes to writing sales copy. Again, it doesn’t take a lot to write money sucking copy for many niche markets. You don’t have to know the deepest psychological tricks to get visitors to buy. You need to know some of the things that your target market is interested in and then gear your ad copy towards their concerns and interests.

The third step is to pump money back into your business. That’s a fundamental factor for success in any business. When you’re selling something on a website and you have measured conversion levels, those numbers will remain the same no matter if you have 100 visitors or 1,000 visitors a day.

Let’s say you have a conversion rate of 2%. For every 100 people who visit your site, two of them become customers. Now you need to take the money from those two sales and drive more people to your site. Now you have 1,000 visitors and you get 20 sales. Take a portion of that and reinvest in your business. Know your numbers and keep tossing money to fuel the fire.

There are tons of niches online that are begging for you to step in and dominate. Simply find the markets where people obviously have little marketing skills and take over the market. You can even offer to buy out another business and pick up where they left off.

Head over to the digital marketplace called http://Clickbank.com and browse through the listings. Dig deep within each category and find out the products with bad sales copy and marketing skills. Do a little research to see if that market has money circulating.

To do this, all you have to do is find what the top advertisers are paying in pay per click search engines. If people are paying a lot to get traffic then you know that the people in that target market are willing to spend the money.

You then set up an optin page to capture leads and see if people are information hungry. If they are, then your optin rate will be good. I generally go for optin rates of at least 20%.

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Restaurant Training – This Is Show Business

In today’s increasingly competitive hospitality industry, owners and managers are constantly seeking the answer to an important question- How do you recruit, retain, and motivate staff who are responsible for creating a “magical” experience which exceeds your guest’s expectations?
Some answers may be found by looking to successful companies that are consistently achieving these goals.

William Shakespeare wrote, ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely pl…

Keywords:
waiter training, restaurant training

In today’s increasingly competitive hospitality industry, owners and managers are constantly seeking the answer to an important question- How do you recruit, retain, and motivate staff who are responsible for creating a “magical” experience which exceeds your guest’s expectations?
Some answers may be found by looking to successful companies that are consistently achieving these goals.

William Shakespeare wrote, ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players’. One company that has exemplified that quote is the Walt Disney World Co. based in Orlando, Florida.

Disney is recognised as one company which creates such “magical”experiences. The Disney challenge is to ensure that all of the 36,000 staff are playing a role in a show which exceeds all expectations.

The Disney approach to people management has helped gain them the reputation of providing a leading benchmark for quality and service in America.

Disney does not just “hire” people for jobs, they “cast” performers for a “role” in the show. The emphasis is in finding ‘people oriented’ cast members who are willing to adapt to the high standards established, and not necessarily on the skills an applicant may have.

Their ‘casting process’ introduces each applicant to the culture of the company, and the important role which they will play in the future success. This way there are no surprises, and it is this approach which helps to maintain turnover at approximately 20%.

Success on the “Restaurant Stage” requires the development and choreography of many different aspects, such as a great cast, script, support and direction.

Quality ‘Casting’ or recruitment, is critical to everything else in the production.

As an owner or manager, you are more director and choreographer of a performance. Your front of house staff, are the actors, and your customers are the audience for whom they must perform.

The supporting crew is responsible for ensuring the script and show is executed as planned. As director, you have to prepare your cast to recognize guest cues, deliver their lines and improvise when it will add to the enjoyment of the performance.

Think of a typical theatre performance- the audience files in, the curtain goes up, the actors make their entrances and speak their lines. If each and every cast member, not to mention the writer, director, stagehands, customers, makeup artists, and lighting technicians, have prepared themselves and the theatre well, the audience enjoys the show and tells others about it.

However, despite the proven talents of individual members of the cast or the presence of an award-winning director or the skills of the backstage crew, the whole thing can be a magnificent flop if just one person fails to do a job on which everyone else depends.

Filling out your service cast with people who can star in their roles is the key to success. But casting for a restaurant show is far more involved and difficult than hiring just anybody to answer a phone, or take orders and deliver food.

The next article, ‘The casting call’ is about how to attract the right cast members. For previous articles please visit the Archives section on our website.

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Frequency: Not the problem it once was

According to Entrepreneur.com, customers have to hear your message three times before they even think about buying, which makes frequency one of the most important activities of the dedicated business person. Often entrepreneurs achieve frequency through expensive ad campaigns. But while advertising is an important part of a business’s marketing strategy, there are less expensive, more personal ways that will increase frequency. And they’re easier than ever to implement. Below are some tips to get you started.

Keywords:
Marketing, frequency, customer relationships, web-based crm software for small businesses, sales, automating marketing, sales, client management

Seasoned and successful small business owners know the value of showing up in their customers’ lives. Because the more their customers see them, the more they buy.

There’s even a term for it – frequency. According to Entrepreneur.com, customers have to hear your message three times before they even think about buying, which makes frequency one of the most important activities of the dedicated business person.

Remember, your prospects buy when THEY are ready to buy, not when you’re ready to make the sale. (Hence, frequency is king because you have got to be in front of them when they ARE ready to buy and hopefully you’ve developed a bit of a relationship through your frequent contact in the process.)

The key point is that many of your prospects haven’t purchased yet because the timing wasn’t right. Tons of people assume those are “bad” leads, but actually they’re really great leads that just need a little time. If you don’t follow up with them frequently, they’ll get scooped up by your competitor who happens to pass by them when they’re ready to buy.

Often entrepreneurs achieve frequency through expensive ad campaigns. But while advertising is an important part of a business’s marketing strategy, there are less expensive, more personal ways that will increase frequency. And they’re easier than ever to implement.

Back in the day, salesmen traded appreciative anecdotes about Vinny the appliance store owner who called everyone he’d ever sold an oven to once a month to see how they were getting along. He sent them cards on Groundhog Day and letters packed with customer appreciation offers. Fellow salesmen shook their heads in wonder and appreciation but dug their toes in the dirt at the prospect of doing the same.

That day is past. With the arrival of the Internet, being a Vinny-alike is as simple as installing contact management software on your computer, hitting a few buttons and letting your prospects and clients know you’re just a phone call or email away.

One of the best ways to stay in contact with prospects and clients is with an opt-in value-packed newsletter. Around once a month, your name pops up in their email box along with the useful information they’ve requested and a special offer or two at the bottom.

Email isn’t the only way to maintain frequency. Most of your prospects have faxes and they definitely all have mailboxes and voice mail. Hence, in addition to email management, contact management software can optimize your fax, mail and even voice broadcast campaigns, helping you keep track of what you’ve sent to whom and when you sent it. It also lets you know when it’s time to get back in touch with a particular customer.

The best software lets you not only track the behavior of your customers but also to tailor your marketing campaigns to those most likely to buy what you’re offering. And if you’ve practiced frequency, many more than usual will be ready to act when they get the message.

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