Remember when a common expression was, “he (or she) lives on the wrong side of the tracks?” That was back when we all had only one address-where we lived. Business owners realize they have a home addresss, where they live, as well as a business address, where they do business. But there’s another very important address as well-your online address or where you live on the Internet. This is just as important as your physical addresses.

Here’s an example: you’ve probably heard of “Hotmail” or “Yahoo mail” just two of the many places on the internet where you can get a free email address just for signing on. Nothing wrong with these but they’re kind of like discount hotels-just sign in, not too many questions asked, if you know what I mean.

These places have their uses, they’re good to use as secondary email addresses if you don’t want to give your real email addresses out-you know, to avoid spam and other unsavoury email.

But why would you use one of these addresses for business purposes? Especially when you already own a domain? Are you hiding something? Is there something about your business you don’t want people to know?

So many times, we see a small business with an email address that leads to hotmail and the like, or are the free ones that come with your Internet connection provider so the hosts name is involved e.g. “yourname@hostname.com.”

This makes you look like an amateur or a business that’s not serious. Wouldn’t you rather have an address like: yourname@yourbusiness.com? We thought so! Well it’s so easy-and it will probably cost you under $10. Here’s what to do: go to a large hosting service online, we recommend www.1and1.com, and register a domain. That’s all. If you register a domain, using their search tool to find one that’s available, say “yourbusinessname.com” or .biz, .net, .info or whatever is available, you can then set up your email address to be, you guessed it, yourname@yourbusiness.com or whatever you like. And what’s more, you don’t have to change your current email addresss at hotmail or wherever, you can set it up so your new professional sounding, business-like email address “forwards” to your current email address. Sound simple? It is and what’s more, you’ve just moved from that trailer down by the river to a very nice part of the internet-your own domain. Congratulations!

Oh, and one more thing, if you’re still going to use your hotmail account, be sure to adjust your email settings so that the “send mail as” address is your new email address (with your domain). That way no one will ever know where you really live!

This weekend I gave a talk at a conference meant for "professionals" of a particular ethnic group of which I am a member.

The word "professional" has always baffled me. Technically, I think, a professional is someone who gets paid to do what they do. Historically, the word has been used to describe people who work in certain high status fields, like Medicine, Accounting, Engineering and Law. There's some rationale in claiming that a professional is someone employed in a field that is overseen by a licensing body that guarantees high standards of conduct and of technical ability. By this definition, doctors, accountants, engineers and lawyers certainly qualify, but so do electricians, plumbers, machinists and a host of other highly skilled workers who typically don't frequent --and who aren't invited to-- the cocktail party circuit.

In colloquial usage, a professional is someone who takes his or her job seriously, and by virtue of that seriousness produces work of a quality beyond that expected of a non-professional. A "professional" hit man, for instance, is presumably better at killing people than the violent kid next door, and will do so more efficiently and with less drama. Hit men are rarely invited to conferences and "networking" events, however. This is probably a good thing.

The word "professional" is sometimes used as a proxy for "wealthy". Many ads on dating sites, for example, explicitly state a preference among suitors for "professionals", since a professional is typically among the top earners of our society; hence the association of the word with cocktail parties and "networking" events. Yet garbage collectors and bus drivers --professionals that are well paid, indeed-- are usually excluded from such events. Ironically, students and unemployed cubicle jockeys feel right at home brushing elbows at these suit-wearing, wine-sipping exchanges, while their wealthier and better trained smock-wearing brethren do not.

I'm not really sure what point I'm trying to make here, except that we so often hide behind euphemisms to obfuscate the crass classism of our activities. In modern parlance, "professional" really means "white collar", and carries with it an implication of advanced social status. This is a tad ironic, since "white collar" no longer means wealthy, ethical or sophisticated, which are presumably the traits one is expecting at "networking" events. Maybe the plumbers, bus drivers, tool makers and short order cooks of the world are already holding champagne parties and "networking" events to which we of the snooty, degreed class are not invited. I wouldn't blame them.

You are thinking of hiring marketing professionals for your organization. Many people use an RFP (Request for Proposal Process) as a way to feel confident of making a good choice. But beware! There are pitfalls in the RFP process that are easy to fall into.

If you've never worked with a marketing professional, or this is the first time you've hired an advertising agency, here are a few "secrets" that will save you time, grief and money.

1. Provide background
   Let prospective suppliers know how your organization is structured, who your buyers or users are, and what business issue you need your new agency to solve. They'll want to know what your budget is, and how you will make a decision. TIP: Share your value proposition and what you feel has made your company a success. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: good agencies want to work with good clients. You may not get the best to response if they don't believe they can do meaningful work, even if your budget is impressive.

2. What are the "got to's"?
   These are the absolute minimum criteria for a company to be on your short list. They include things like years in business, previous experience in your industry, and geographic location. Provide a "fill in the blanks" form for their responses. TIP: Be very specific about your criteria. Instead of saying "seeking well-established agency", say "Must have been in business 5 years or more." WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: quickly and accurately evaluate responses, and exclude companies from consideration.

3. Ask about their processes
   You should understand how the agency works. What is their "sweet spot" - the typical account size range they work with? How would they communicate with you? How do you give them information? What is their approach or methodology for assisting you? How do they create plans and recommendations? How do they make the ads? How do they get paid? TIP: An agency with a defined business system they've used for many clients will be effective and efficient at creating solutions and getting them out into the marketplace. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: assurance that you are guaranteed an efficient use of their time, since most agencies bill by the hour.

4. Ask about their people
   You want experienced people who won't have to learn on your dime. Get biographies of the people you will be working with directly. See the work they have done and ask about the results it generated. Get references and check them. TIP: Take extra time to check the "chemistry" between you and the agency team. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: you will be sharing your most intimate business information with these people, so you must like and trust them.

5. Avoid this!
   Don't make the RFP form long and involved. Avoid intrusive or irrelevant questions. Don't ask for answers that can easily be found on the agency's Web site. TIP: Don't ask for ideas or ads "on spec". WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: the only thing an agency has to sell is its ideas. Goods agencies won't do the work before they get the job. The busy, successful agency you want on your business will likely not respond to your RFP.

Did you know that small businesses could actually double their sales by simply following up with leads and contacts? That’s right: 99 percent of small businesses do not consistently follow up with their prospects and customers.

Look at the math: If you close 25 percent of 100 leads or sell to a quarter of 100 store visitors, you have 25 customers. If you close 10 percent of the remaining 75 leads or visitors, you have 32.5 customers-that’s a 30 percent increase. Close 20 percent and you’re up 15 new customers, or 60 percent more. Follow up with customers to get them to buy one more item this year, and you’ve added another huge increase.

Why don’t we follow up? Because we fall prey to an insidious and dangerous belief about our business that’s so bad it’s like having someone’s hand in your pocket, just reaching in to take our hard-earned money. It’s called product management and it will guarantee you don’t make the money you need and deserve.

See if this sounds familiar. You are a retailer, and you know the margin on every item in your store. More than that, you know exactly what it costs to keep an item in inventory, and how many times you have to turn your stock to maximize your return. You know your sales per square foot, and what every area of your store delivers in sales and profit.

Perhaps you are a manufacturer. You run tight controls on your raw materials, and you insist on just-in-time delivery from your suppliers, and just-in-time manufacturing and shipping to your customers. You control your labour costs and capacity utilization, and you manage your receivables really well. You have a good handle on foreign currency.

What if you provide a service, say accounting, financial planning or law? You know your billable rate, and how many billable hours you must account for and bill during the year. You review the realization rate for the firm regularly. You know where you make money, and where it’s better to put lower-paid juniors on the case.

Now all this activity is laudable, and we are not denying the importance of managing costs. In fact, tight controls are vital to a well-run business. But focusing on costs won’t do the one thing you need more than anything!

Managing costs will persuade ZERO customers to do business with you. In fact, this approach is so insidious it can actually make your business fail.

We fall into it because we manage our relationship with products, not clients. And let’s face it, products don’t write cheques; customers do.

If you are spending more time following up on products, shipments, and inventory than on leads, prospects and clients, you are literally throwing away the opportunity to double your business.

If you are a business owner, we urge you to delegate everything that takes you away from communicating with prospects and customers. We’ll be sharing a way to automate your follow up to ensure you don’t miss out on that potential 100 percent increase from now on.