r&b knight archer spring 2015

RISK BUSINESS&MAGAZINE

SPRING 2015

Kat ColeThe Rise of a

Business Superstar

7 Social Media Strategies • Hiring is a Risky Business • Equal or Equitable Pay • No More Problems

Knight Archer insurAnce

2 RISK & BUSINESS MAGAZINETM SPRING 2015

RISK & BUSINESS MAGAZINETMSPRING 2015 3

welcome to R&B

CONTENTS

www.knightarcher.com

Entrepreneurs are focused on building their business. Knight Archer is focussed on helping you be more

successful by eliminating catastrophic loss out of your business risk. We are advocates for risk management processes that are simple, inexpensive and that can significantly reduce possibilities for loss.

We hear about reoccurring problematic business issues each day. We help our clients solve these problems. Our focus is to assist you in suggesting loss prevention methods to minimize any disruptions to your daily operations.

In this edition of our Magazine, we will provide you with a few ideas that can help:

• make your life easier with respect to legal compliance,

• provide unique low cost solutions to attracting and keeping talent,

• maximize the amount of money you are able to retain when exiting from a successful business

All of these ideas have a component of insurance associated with them but insurance proceeds are not the reason for their creation.

Knight Archer is a business similar to many others. We face challenges in our business and have created solutions to make our own life easier. These same solutions are available to your business.

An example of one solution is demonstrated in the Canadian Anti-spam Legislation (CASL) Compliance solution we helped create. An article of this legal requirement and solution is on page 25. Knight Archer has improved this service by incorporating an insurance legal defense component in the offering. In this instance, should the CRTC authorities investigate your business because of an allegation of a CASL violation, the insurance will pay to help defend you.

We invite you to read our human interest stories and various entertaining articles. We have incorporated a number of ideas for making your life easier and which will make your business more successful.

Enjoy reading! We would love to hear from you. My personal email is [email protected]

From Waitress to President:

The Rise of a Business Superstar

Kat Cole’s Sweet Success

16

Welcome from the Owner 3

The Knight Archer Difference 5 Providing Mortgage Solutions from many Vendors

What’s Going on at Knight Archer 6 Keep Up With What’s Happening

The Future of Health 8Biologic Drugs and Health Benefits

No More Problems, Please! 9A Different Approach to Strategy for all Companies

7 Social Media Strategies 12Have Social Media Work for Your Company

Hiring is a Risky Business 14Topgrading Steps to Hiring Better

Creating Inspired Moments 20The Importance of a Customer Service Vision Statement

Right Questions, Right Time 22The Importance and True Relevance of a Question

Equal or Equitable Pay? 24How to Get Top Team Performance

Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation 25 Monitoring Acceptance of your Electronic Communications

Life Insurance Policies 27 Your Corporation and Your CDA

Steps to the Next Level 28Take Your Content Marketing Strategy to the Next Level

Dreams That Start With a Boom 30Business Profile - ZARKOR HOMES

eBrokerTM Software 31Knight Archer Transforms the Way Brokerages Do Business

RISK BUSINESS&MAGAZINE

Carle Publishing Toll Free: (877) 719-8919, Fax: (866) 609-5674

Email: [email protected] Website: www.carlepublishing.com

Knight Archer Insurance Insurance Risk & Business MagazineTM is published by Carle Publishing Inc. All content, copyright © 2015, Carle Publishing Inc. All rights reserved.

Risk & Business MagazineTM is a valued and recognized trademark of Carle Publishing Inc. This publication may not be reproduced, all or in part, without written consent from the publisher. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of all content in this publication, however, the publisher nor Knight Archer Insurance will be held responsible for omissions or errors.

Please address all editorial and advertising inquiries to Carle Publishing Inc., Email: [email protected]. Carle Publishing Inc. is not held responsible for the loss, damage or any other injury to unsolicited material (including but not limited to manuscripts, artwork, photographs and advertisements). Unsolicited material must be included with a self-addressed, overnight-delivery return envelope, postage prepaid.

Carle Publishing Inc. and Knight Archer Insurance will not give or rent your name, mailing address, or other contact information to third parties. Subscriptions are complimentary for qualified individuals.

401 Bishop Drive Fredericton, NB E3C 2M6

Ph: 506-459-3000 • Fax: 506-458-2088 Toll Free: 1-888-475-2246

www.caininsurance.ca

PUBLISHER Carle Publishing Inc. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Andy Buyting GRAPHIC DESIGN John Christenson CONTENT COORDINATOR Stacey Cowperthwaite

CONTRIBUTORS Sara Ashton Andy Buyting Greg Crabtree John DiJulius III Eric Fry Verne Harnish Dave Kerpen Joe Pulizzi Dr Brad Smart Joel Sopp Greg Van Ginkel Neil Wadhwa

ADVERTISING (National) Keith Keane ADVERTISING (Local) Christine Martyn

PHOTOGRAPHY All images sourced from Carle Publishing Inc. or Thinkstockphotos.ca unless otherwise identified.


PUBLISHER Carle Publishing Inc. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Andy Buyting GRAPHIC DESIGN John Christenson CONTENT COORDINATOR Stacey Cowperthwaite

CONTRIBUTORS Sara Ashton Andy Buyting Greg Crabtree John DiJulius III Eric Fry Verne Harnish Dave Kerpen Joe Pulizzi Dr Brad Smart Joel Sopp Greg Van Ginkel Neil Wadhwa

ADVERTISING (National) Keith Keane ADVERTISING (Local) Christine Martyn

PHOTOGRAPHY All images sourced from Carle Publishing Inc. or Thinkstockphotos.ca unless otherwise identified.

Knight Archer Insurance has been operating since 1981 and is a full

service auto, property, life, commercial and group benefits brokerage, headquartered in Regina, Saskatchewan. In addition to the insurance side of their business, Knight Archer is also a fully licensed mortgage brokerage.

“To keep it simple, we shop the marketplace for our clients,” says James Archer, principal broker at Knight Archer. “We provide mortgage solutions from many vendors, each designed to fit our clients’ individual needs.”

“To keep it simple, we shop the marketplace for our clients”

Although shopping around for the best rates makes good common sense, the real difference between Knight Archer Mortgage Brokers and other mortgage companies, is specifically that brokers can provide the full gamut of services that are normally auxiliary to mortgages, or as James put it: “What don’t we do?”

Knight Archer strives to offer a range of insurance and mortgage products that are crucial to the average family. As a

result, people tend to gravitate towards doing business with Knight Archer. The ability to work with one, singular company for mortgage services, life insurance and home insurance policies makes everything simple. There’s no need to move between several different companies and organize different contacts, when everything can be done under one roof. In fact, James estimates that approximately 95% of all Knight Archer Mortgage Brokers clients enjoy the hassle-free process of arranging home & life insurance with Knight Archer as well.

The team of mortgage brokers at Knight Archer has grown from just 4 to 12 (and counting) in just a few years, thanks to all the success Knight Archer has had with their mortgage broker service offerings. James notes the many services currently being offered, including mortgage services specifically designed for those new to Canada, or the self employed. “The self-employed can sometimes have a hard time getting a mortgage,” says James. “We have special ‘low documentation’ products, and work with

specific vendors, that are designed for individuals who cannot meet traditional income verification requirements.

“Buying a home is an emotional experience”

For all the mortgage offerings on the table, Knight Archer doesn’t stop at the transaction and then disappear. Our team provides customers with a plan, and implements strategies to help customers pay off their mortgage. It’s all part of the experience of working with Knight Archer Mortgage Brokers. “Buying a home is an emotional experience,” says James. “Ongoing communication to make the customer feel comfortable is key in order to deliver the best service.”

“Ongoing communication to make the customer feel

comfortable is key in order to deliver the best service”

James and his team intend to achieve great results by hiring well-trained, and professional mortgage specialists. Aligning them with the rest of the team at Knight Archer, a staff of over 80 spread across seven locations, is an obvious benefit to the customers who choose to do business with Knight Archer.

BY: SARA ASHTON, SPECIAL PROJECTS CO-ORDINATOR, KNIGHT ARCHER INSURANCE

The Knight Archer DifferenceProviding Mortgage Solutions From Many Vendors

R & B

RISK & BUSINESS MAGAZINETM SPRING 2015 5


What’s going on at Knight Archer Keep Up With What’s Happening

R & B

Saskatoon Chinese New Years

Knight Archer staff organized a fun and educational Chinese writing contest in support of another local cultural event.

Brighter Futures Brighter Futures for Children March 2015 was a tremendous success raising over $70,000 for the Regina Early Learning Centre and SCEP Centre. This brings our 10 year total to just over $525,000!

Easter Seals Easter Egg Sales

Easter Seal Easter Egg Sales kicked off March 9-April 5th where

Knight Archer staff at all our provincial offices

sold Easter eggs for a dollar to benefit kids, youth and adults with varying abilities.


Hopes Home Gala FundraiserKnight Archer Commercial Staff enjoy a night out at Hopes Home Gala Fundraiser.

Hopes Home Gala Fundraiser

The future of health is looking bright due to the rise in biologic drugs,

but with this escalation in preventative medicine comes factors that will shift and impact the lives of employees and employers. With preparation, employers can reduce the hit of costs by properly utilizing available government plans and taking a few preventative steps.

Biologics drugs are genetically engineered proteins derived from human genes, designed to inhibit specific components of the immune system that play pivotal roles in fueling inflammation. Biologics have revolutionized the treatment of chronic illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Chron’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. Biologic drugs are also widely used in treating a variety of cancers. Biologic drugs are more expensive than the alternative, but the efficacy is much greater than an existing non-biologic.

As we move toward 2020, these drugs are making up a larger percentage of total drugs claimed per year and employers are preparing to manage these costs in the most effective way. In this preparation, employers will need to utilize available government programs to divert costs while still allowing employees to use these innovative and effective medicines.

There are a few different ways that employers can

BY: BRENNAN BOYKO, KNIGHT ARCHER INSURANCE

The Future of Health Biologic Drugs and Health Benefits

do this, and lowering individual stop loss is one step that employers may take. Typically, stop loss is set at $10,000 and any claims over that are not charged against the experience of the employee benefit plan. To do this, employers will have to pay a higher premium to enact a lower stop loss level.

Employers are also working to ensure healthcare coordination with government plans, as most government plans will pay for the balance of health costs once claims reach a certain threshold. This threshold varies per employee and is usually reflected by a percentage of the employee’s salary. This is an important step in creating a solution for employees as without the government’s assistance, employers would be left to pay for the balance of any health costs. The cost that the employer has to take on in situations without government plans is huge and could lead to real financial concerns on the bottom line. For smaller companies, this cost could dramatically impact their ability to stay in business. These programs are integral to the financial stability of a company.

Using a preferred provider network is another way to dramatically cut costs. Choosing carriers that use these networks means that the providers are able to have expensive drugs dispensed at a lower price than would normally be available to the employee. Taking advantage of preferred provider networks will strengthen the financial viability of the plan by having a long term savings strategy.

With proper preparation, there are many ways to keep costs from skyrocketing while still keeping employees and employers alike happy, healthy, and thriving. Knight Archer is available to review your plan and ensure that the proper protections are in place and made available to the employer and employees to support the longevity of your business and the health of your employees.

Contact [email protected]

R & B


BY: VERNE HARNISH AND ANDY BUYTING

No More Problems, Please!A Different Approach to Strategy for all Companies

First, my public apology to all the companies I’ve misguided over the

past two decades, as well as an apology to my employees. And while I’m at it, let me add a public apology to my family and friends.

I just didn’t know any better until I read a thin 70 page book called the

Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry

I apologize for dredging up all their problems, for focusing on what is wrong instead of on what is right. I apologize for focusing on the F’s instead of the A’s. I just didn’t know any better until I read a thin 70 page book called the Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry.

Quick summary – Focus on what’s working instead of on what’s not working. Period.

Here’s the rub. During quarterly planning and consulting sessions the tendency is to make a list of problems and then spend

the bulk of the time discussing these problems and trying to solve them. No wonder people dread the process.

This was brought home to me recently when a client introduced

me, as his new consultant, to some of the people in his accounting department. One of the women quipped “I suppose you’re here to point out everything we’re doing wrong.” Ouch! But an accurate description of the role of most consultants.

As a leader of my own firm, I’ve fallen into this same “problem analysis” focus of solving my growth company challenges. And as a father, during a recent teacher-parent conference, I caught myself focusing more on the “B’s” than the “A’s”, even though I now know better – these are difficult habits to break.



DRIVING REVENUES

So what’s the alternative? Let me go back to my latest planning session with the client mentioned above. Their main challenge was driving revenue. Rather than analyze all the reasons why revenues were NOT growing as rapidly as they would like, we took a different tack. Instead, we explored a time when revenues were exploding i.e. when things were going great.

Rather than analyze all the reasons why revenues

were NOT growing as rapidly as they would like...

we explored a time when revenues were exploding

i.e. when things were going great.

Back a number of years ago, one of their divisions had driven revenues from $2 million to just over $9 million in the span of twelve months. Since then, that division’s revenues have gone flat. So we brought in the head of that division and rather than spend an hour analyzing why revenues had gone flat, instead we asked “what were you doing right back then that caused revenues to explode?”

First, the head of the division was getting to re-live a positive time, rather than hash through a bunch of negatives. More importantly, about an hour into the conversation, as we continued to explore what worked for them in the past, the head of the division had a major insight.

Back a few years ago, he was spending about a week a month out in the field visiting with his main distributors and customers. However, after experiencing the sharp jump in revenues, he was sucked into all the challenges of running a much larger operation which had reduced his field time to less than a week every quarter. The minute he said it, the CEO looked at his head of operations, he looked at me, and we all looked at the division head and we knew our answer had been found. We then spent the next hour figuring out how to get some

activities off the division head’s plate so he could get back out in the field.

Results? When I checked back three months later, though the division head had not yet achieved a week/month of field time, he had managed to get out a lot more than he had been and in the process found a new product that may likely add $10 million in revenue next year! Now the company is faced with finding the cash to support the added inventory and again, when explored how they had successfully accomplished this in the past.

DEFINING AND FOCUSING ON THE CORE CUSTOMER

While discussing the downturn of company profitability over the past few years, Certified Gazelles Coach Andy Buyting brought a new client in the security guard industry through a core customer exercise. After analyzing the hard numbers and the gradual shift in customer profile in recent years, it was found that approximately 76% of their customers made up less than 5% of their revenues.

What they concluded was they were wasting far too much (76%) of their time, attention and resources servicing clients that were simply not profitable. This was taking them away from their larger clients, clients they were better equipped to service well, and would most likely contribute to larger and more profitable growth in the future.

Result? Within a three week period, they essentially fired (transferred out) three quarters of their customer list. This freed up their operations and admin people to focus on their large profitable clients. It also provided their sales team with clarity on their core customer, and has allowed them to grow larger, faster and with much stronger profitability.

TURNAROUND STRATEGIES

Another friend who turns around business said he uses a similar process. He simply asks for a graph of the company’s financial performance for the past decade or so, looks for a point where the performance was stellar, and then brings together leaders and employees who were around during that period and spends a couple days inquiring into what

the company was doing then that they aren’t doing now.

In one recent turnaround, he found seven distinct activities the firm was doing during the boom times that they weren’t doing now and he simply focused the firm on doing those activities again, even though the market and products had shifted over time. Results? Another successful turnaround.

FOCUS ON STRENGTHS

Marcus Buckingham, the strengths movement guru (Go Put Your Strengths to Work), notes that if you want to help your children with their F’s, ask them about their A’s – what did they do to get their A’s, why they like that subject more than the other, what the teacher does, etc. You don’t ignore F’s, but you must study the A’s, not dwell on the F’s, if you have any hope of supporting your child in a positive way.

You don’t ignore your problems, but it’s far

more productive to study what’s working...

The same with your company. You don’t ignore your problems, but it’s far more productive to study what’s working, in your own company or others, as the best way to solve the challenges facing your growing firm.

As a Certified Gazelles International Strategic Advisor, Andy Buyting provides strategic direction for high growth companies and their management teams as they grow their organizations to the next level. Learn more at www.AndyBuyting.com

Verne Harnish is founder and CEO of Gazelles, a global executive education and coaching company, Verne has spent the past 30 years educating entrepreneurial teams. He’s the author of Mastering the Rockefeller Habits which is endorsed by over 100 CEOs of mid-size companies and is published in ten languages.

BY: DAVE KERPEN, FOUNDER AND CEO, LIKEABLE LOCAL

7 Social Media StrategiesHave Social Media Work for your Company

Gone are the days of strictly using traditional marketing vehicles.

Today, savvy SMB’s use search marketing, search engine optimization and various social media platforms to market their companies online. And, today is as good a time as any to look at your social media strategy.

More than 1.3 billion people in the world are on Facebook, including over 180 million Americans. Twitter recently surpassed 400 million accounts.

LinkedIn boasts over 300 million users. Many SMB’s are trying to take advantage of these trends, by using social networks to promote themselves and broadcast their messages, but few are fully reaping the rewards.

If you stop thinking like a marketer and start thinking like a customer, you’ll understand the secret to social media is in the “social” more than in the “media”. It’s in being human, and being the sort of person at a cocktail party who listens attentively, tells great stories, shows interest in others and is authentic and honest. To put it simply, the secret is to be likeable.

Here are seven tips to be more likeable and ensure great success using social media:

1. Listen first and never stop listeningBefore your first tweet, search Twitter for people talking about your company

and your competitors. Search using words that your

prospective

customers would say as well. For example, real estate agents should use Twitter and Facebook to search for people using the words “looking for a realtor” in your town. You’ll be surprised how many people are already looking for you.

2. Don’t tell your customers to “Like” you and “Follow” you, tell them why and how they shouldEverywhere you turn, you see “Like us on Facebook” and “Follow us on Twitter”. Huh? Why? How? Give your customers a reason to connect with you on social networks, answering the question “What’s in it for me?” and then make it incredibly easy to do so. Note the difference between these two calls to action: “Like our page on Facebook” vs. “Get answers to your questions on our Facebook page.”

3. Be authentic Your customers don’t want to read impersonal posts and sales offers all day. Instead, be human and be yourself. Are you sponsoring a Little League team in your town? Share it with your fans! Know a few jokes related to your industry? Tell them! Show your company’s personality and watch your online community to engage and grow.

4. Why ask questions? Wondering why nobody’s responding to your posts on Facebook? It’s

probably because you’re

not asking questions. Social media is about engagement and having a conversation, not about self-promotion. If a store posts on Facebook, “Come in and see what’s on the sale today,” nobody will comment and nobody will come. If that same store posts a question as simple as “What’s your favorite gift you’ve ever bought?” and attaches a great picture, people will be more likely to comment online and engage with the company.

5. Surprise and delight your customers Want to bring more attention to your company’s social media pages and become more likeable overall? Figure out ways to surprise and delight your customers on a regular basis. Offer contests and raffles or encourage your community to join the conversation for a chance to win local gift cards that show off a town’s personality. Remember, free is like magic and a delighted customer will share their experience with friends and family.

6. Share pictures and videos to tell storiesPeople love photos. The biggest reason Facebook went from zero to 1 billion users in just 10 is photos. Photos and videos tell stories about you in ways a text alone

cannot.


You don’t need a big production budget, either. Use your smartphone to take pictures and short videos of customers and cool things around town. Then upload them directly to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. A picture of happy, attractive customers is social media gold. Try a video featuring testimonials from your happy customers! A picture really is worth a thousand words – and a video is worth a thousand pictures.

7. Spend at least 30 minutes a day and use tools to help Likeable Local offers a software that makes social media fun, easy, and effective for small businesses. With advertising, analytics and idea suggestions, Likeable Local gives you the tools to be successful on social. If you bought a newspaper ad or radio ad, you wouldn’t spend five minutes on it or relegate it to interns, so don’t do it with social media. Spend real time each day reading and learning, listening and responding, and truly joining the conversation. The more time and effort you put in to social media, the more benefits you’ll see.

The strategies listed above are critical to maintain and grow an online community, but before you even consider social media – I tell Likeable customers – consider this: Social media will help magnify and multiply the conversations about your company. Will you be happy about the nature of those conversations?

Before you get involved with external communications – online marketing, advertising and social media – look internally at your company. The secret to the most effective marketing is so simple – just be likeable.

Dave Kerpen is the the founder and CEO of Likeable Local, the cofounder and Chairman of Likeable Media, the NY Times Bestselling author of 3 books, the #1 LinkedIn Influencer of all time in pageviews, ahead of Bill Gates, Jack Welch, Mark Cuban and Barack Obama, and the proud father of Charlotte and Kate Kerpen.


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“The ability to make good decisions about people represents one of the last reliable sources of competitive

advantage, since very few organizations are very good at it.” Peter Drucker

Which managers among us have not suffered from too many

costly mis-hires? Dr. Brad Smart, widely respected as a hiring expert, offers three common sense steps to help us hire better. He coined the term Topgrading to mean achieving 90% success hiring and promoting people.

R&B: Brad, let’s get straight into it. Why is hiring very risky?

Brad: Because almost all managers suffer from poor hiring results. I met with the number one Human Resources executives from the largest 100 companies in the world. Across the board, they said that 75% of the people they hire turn out to be disappointments.

R&B: Why is the success rate so low for most companies?

Brad: Most companies mis-hire people because of three things: One, candidates get away with lying on their resume and in interviews; two, interviewing methods are so shallow Forrest Gump could pass them; and three, companies don’t verify what candidates told them because the reference calls they conduct are generally ineffective.

R&B: I know Topgrading has ways to overcome problems, but first let’s talk more about risk. What are the risks when there is a mis-hire?

Brad: For three decades we’ve asked managers to estimate what it costs in money and time when they mis-hire someone. Bottom line, the average estimated cost of mis-hiring a $100,000 per year manager is over $400,000,

Hiring is a Risky BusinessTopgrading Steps to Hiring BetterBY: DR. BRAD SMART, AUTHOR AND PRESIDENT AND CEO OF TOPGRADING, INC.

and the average number of hours “wasted” sweeping up after a mis-hire is more than 250 hours. The cost of keeping low performers gets bigger over time because they suck the energy and productivity of high performers who must work harder to prevent mistakes and later correct them.

R&B: OK, so what are the steps managers can take to hire better?

Brad: Step 1: Use the Topgrading “truth serum” which is simple: Tell candidates that a final step in hiring is for them, not the company, but for them to arrange reference calls with their former managers and others. The low performers, those with hyped resumes, drop out because they know there is no way that they could get their former managers to talk with the hiring company – nor would they want you to.

Step 2: Conduct a Topgrading interview. Remember, all the remaining candidates are motivated to tell the truth. The Topgrading Interview walks them through their career so you can really understand how they evolved and what their abilities and competencies are today. Start with their first job and come up to the present and ask: What were your successes? What were your failures? What were any additional key decisions or any important people interactions you had? Appraise your boss. (It’s very important to see what sort of bosses they liked, or not.)

And here is the single most important and revealing question of all: If we were to ask you to arrange a reference call with your managers, what is your best guess as to what they would list as your strengths

and your weaker points and how would they rate your overall performance?

The Topgrading interview reveals how people they performed and improved, and how they learned from mistakes. Values are revealed and over time, clearly defined patterns uncover their strengths and weaker points today.

Step 3: Ask candidates to arrange reference calls with their former managers —and then make those calls. This assures solid verification of everything the candidate said. Ask candidates to arrange the calls with not just their bosses, but anyone you want to talk with. It might be a couple of sharp subordinates or peers. Or for a sales rep candidate, maybe you want to talk to a couple of customers and so forth. Candidates arrange the calls so there’s no telephone tag.

R&B: That’s brilliant. With regard to the Topgrading Interview, would you recommend one person or a panel do them?

Brad: That is a terrific question. Definitely use two interviewers, the hiring manager and another manager, perhaps Human Resources. General Electric started with 25% success and with solo Topgrading Interviews improved to 50%. Jack Welch, GE CEO at the time, asked how they could improve and I suggested two interviewers. He implemented it and GE achieved an over 90% hiring success rate. Soon after, GE became the most valuable company in the world in terms of market capitalization.

The cool thing is that thousands of managers have been trained in Topgrading and when they use these three basic steps and conduct tandem Topgrading Interviews, they too achieve 80% and even 90% hiring success. And many managers prefer to have a Certified Topgrading Coach as the main

interviewer and they serve as the tandem partner.

R&B: Is Topgrading just for large companies?

Brad: No! A single mis-hire in a small company could be devastating.

Thousands of small- and mid-sized companies have

successfully Topgraded.

R&B: What proof is there that Topgrading really works so well?

Brad: Go to www.topgradingcasestudies.com to read 40 case studies. On the first

page is a master chart showing the average hiring success rate improved from 26% to

85%. And every CEO is quoted saying the company is more profitable

because of Topgrading.

R&B: Tell us a little how our readers can learn more.

Brad: They can go to www.topgrading.com to download a free 70-page e-Book, Topgrading 201.


Dr. Brad Smart is an internationally renowned management psychologist and is generally regarded as the world’s leading expert on hiring best practices. Topgrading methods have helped leading companies such General Electric, Honeywell, Barclays, and American Heart Association plus hundreds of small and mid-sized companies improve their hiring methods.


The cinnamon roll shouldn’t be here. The story of the

cinnamon roll only knowing the confines and comfort of mall food-courts, remaining resilient against the glass-half empty nutritionists that called for its downfall, and then becoming the staple item in a billion dollar business, runs parallel to Cole’s own rise and the challenges she faced along the way. Cole went from “waitress” to “President” by thinking bigger, doing more, embracing change, and welcoming all challenges.

BY: NEIL WADHWA

From Waitress to President:

The Rise of a Business Superstar

Kat Cole’s Sweet Success


Walk through most mall food-courts around the world and you’ll be sure to smell that magical aroma of sweet cinnamon, brown sugar, gooey icing, melting margarine, and pillow-soft pastry dough, calling your name. Follow your nose and you’ll end up at Cinnabon, the cinnamon roll brand with a cult following.

The cinnamon roll’s popularity hasn’t diminished at a time when fast-food chains and restaurant menus worldwide are adopting healthier options. In fact, Cinnabon has hit $1 billion in sales every year since 2012, and its licensed products can now be found everywhere from supermarket shelves, in packaged-foods by Kellogg and Pillsbury, to fast-food restaurants, including Taco Bell and Burger King.

While Cinnabon’s success can be traced to Makara cinnamon—Cinnabon’s proprietary cinnamon from Indonesia that can be found in all of Cinnabon’s licensed products—and loyal customers willing to indulge in a little guilty pleasure every once in a while, the company can also take comfort in knowing it’s in the safe hands of Kat Cole.

Cinnabon’s classic roll is 880 calories—330 more than a Big Mac. It goes against all the trends of the “make it healthier” and “make it artisanal” discussions that surround food in 2015. Yet it manages to survive, thrive, and expand. In many ways, the story of the classic roll echoes the story of Cole, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cinnabon, who is in a position that might have been unimaginable to her 9-year-old self.

“I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. Our father, who was a Vietnam veteran, had come back a troubled guy, and was making bad decisions. He wouldn’t be around for family events, or my mom was left to do things on her own, or he was out drinking and wouldn’t come home till late,” said Cole, during her recent appearance on Undercover Boss.

“So, when I was nine years old, my mom had the courage to leave him and take me and my two younger sisters to a different city so that we could start a new life. She fed our little family of three girls on $10 a week.”

It’s in these early stages of life where Cole learned to take charge and be responsible—traits not typically asked of a 9-year-old. But it’s these very traits developed by Cole at an early age that still help guide her throughout her professional career.

Cole watched as her mom became the leader of the family. More importantly, seeing her mom feed three growing girls on $10 a week instilled in her the drive to be successful, a drive that can only be understood by those who have grown up in situations similar to Cole.

10 years later, at the age of 19, Cole started working at Hooters, selling beer and chicken wings. As Cole’s mom was still raising three kids on a low salary, Cole spent her time outside of Hooters (when not at school) working a second job at a local mall.

Her time at Hooters wasn’t one of working for tips, but rather embracing any opportunity that came her way, gladly accepting challenges that others would turn away from.

“I was in the right place at the right time with a company that was growing, but at the same time,

I had worked my buns off to be

known as someone who could get the

job done. When the cooks quit, I went in

the back and learned how to cook, when the

managers needed help, I helped, when the other

servers or people needed help, I was there to help, because

I was curious and I genuinely wanted to help,” Said Cole, in a

recent interview with NextShark.

“Fast forward a year of doing that, I was one of the few people that had

worked every job in the building. So when someone called and said ‘hey, we want you to

go overseas and open restaurants,’ it wasn’t just that I was chosen, it wasn’t just that I was lucky,

it’s that I had happened to put myself in a position—unknowingly—to be one of the top candidates.”

“I had worked my buns off to be

known as someone who could get the job done.”


For Cole, every challenge and every new opportunity was a new chance to learn and grow. She was willing to put herself in new situations, ones that she may not have had the skills or training for at the time, in order become a well rounded, knowledgeable employee—rather than one that had only very narrow, replaceable skillsets.

Nothing encapsulates Cole’s willingness more than when Hooters asked her to help open a restaurant in Australia. Although she had run every aspect of the Jacksonville’s Hooters location, what Cole had never done at that point in her life was step on soil outside of her home state of Florida—never mind stepping on an airplane. She asked management for a day to decide, and after consulting her mom, flew to Miami to stand in line and get a passport, which could be completed within the day. She got the passport, and was soon in Australia, where she spent 40 days helping with the opening of the restaurant.

Management never knew about her day trip to Miami in order to get the passport.

At the time, Cole thought of Hooters as just a pit stop, as she was pursuing an engineering degree at the University of Northern Florida, with plans on enrolling in law school afterwards. But Cole’s experience in Australia was life changing. Not only was it her first trip outside of Florida, but also management saw how successful she was and started sending Cole to more countries to open more restaurants.

As a result, she made the decision to drop out of school. A big decision, considering Cole was the first of her family to go to college—and a decision she would revisit less than 10 years down the line. This continued the trend of embracing opportunity and change, rather than question and resist change in order to follow a path seemingly set in stone.

After opening restaurant locations for less than two years, a Vice President at Hooters asked the then 20-year-old Cole to apply for a management job based in Hooters’ Atlanta headquarters. Cole applied—even dressing up for the phone interview—and got the job. Six short years later, Cole became a VP of Hooters herself. To make up for the fact that didn’t have a university degree—revisiting her decision to leave the University of Northern Florida 10 years earlier—Cole completed her Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and then enrolled in Georgia State University’s Executive MBA Program.

In 2010, still a student in her early 30s, FOCUS Brands, the Atlanta-based franchisor and operator of six food-

For Cole, every challenge and every

new opportunity was a new chance to learn and grow.


service chains with over 4,500 locations in the United States and 63 other countries, hired her as the CEO of Cinnabon. Two short months after she was hired, Cole finished her MBA. One month after finishing her MBA, she was promoted to president of Cinnabon.

At 32, Cole was responsible for over 1,000 Cinnabon locations in over 50 countries, which, at the time, was approaching $1 billion in annual sales.

In February 2015—during the very week of this article’s initial drafts—Kat Cole, now 36, was promoted to president of FOCUS Brands, putting her in charge of Carvel, Schlotzsky’s, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, McAlister’s Deli, in addition to Cinnabon. A short 17 years ago, Cole was just in charge of wings and beer at the Jacksonville Hooters.

“I was the daughter of an alcoholic and a single parent, I worked at Hooters most of my life, and I dropped out of college,” Cole explained to Charlotte Alter for an interview with Time Magazine.

“You tell me if that inspires you to want to have me run your company.”

We think FOCUS made the right decision.

Kat Cole promoted to President of FOCUS Brands

Creating Inspired MomentsThe Importance of a Customer Service Vision StatementBY: JOHN DiJULIUS, PRESIDENT, THE DiJULIUS GROUP

“Putting our feet in the shoes of the Customers, [we understood] what they were dealing with and [their] anxiety . . .We were growing the company with such

speed and aggression that we lost sight of the Customer experience.”-Howard Schultz, Starbucks’ CEO,

Wall Street Journal 2011

In 2010, I had one of the highlights of my consulting career: Starbucks asked

me to help it re-create its Customer service vision statement. I have worked with Starbucks in the past, but this was different. I knew this was going to be something that would live for a long, long time in Starbucks. Starbucks has always been one of my favorite companies, both as a Customer and as a Customer service consultant. I was so excited! I knew that no one helped create better Customer service vision statements than The DiJulius Group. I knew we were perfect for this project. I was so excited about taking on this project, until I asked them what their current vision statement was that they wanted to change: “To inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.”

I thought to myself, Wow, that’s pretty good. I honestly didn’t know if we could improve on that. I asked Craig Russell, senior vice president of global coffee, why he felt that statement didn’t work for Starbucks. He replied, “We love the statement; those are Howard’s [Schultz’s] words. It is more of our purpose. As far as a Customer service vision, it is too big, too aspirational. We want something that’s actionable, trainable, measurable.” As I thought about it, he was right. If someone comes in and orders a venti soy latte, and the barista gives

Inspired moments One of the biggest takeaways from this workshop that the group of executives from Starbucks shared was that Starbucks can’t change what’s going to happen today to its Customers. Whether they get a flat tire on their way to work or they are irate because their package didn’t arrive next-day air, as promised, what Starbucks can provide (and does provide very well) is an escape—if only for a few seconds in the Customer’s day. Starbucks allows its Customers to step inside, collect themselves, see some friendly faces—whether it be the workers, friends, or neighbors from the community—and take a break, enjoy a beverage, regroup, and then go back and take on the world again.

There it was. The team had it: the Starbucks’ Customer service vision statement. One of my proudest trophies as a consultant is the Starbucks green apron. The next time you walk into a Starbucks, anywhere in the world, and you see a Starbucks employee wearing that signature green apron, politely ask them to turn the inside top of the apron over for you. There is where you will see the Starbucks Customer service vision statement and pillars printed. It reads:

it to them exactly how they ordered it, in ninety seconds, did the barista inspire or nurture their human spirit? Probably not. That is something that takes dozens and dozens of positive experiences. I believe Starbucks does that. But it doesn’t happen one time.

So we did what we do with all our consulting clients when making a Customer service vision statement; we started with scripting a day in the life of a Starbucks Customer (see chapter 5 for the day-in-the-life discussion). A Starbucks Customer is easy to relate to. Virtually anyone reading this book can relate, whether you actually frequent Starbucks or not. Starbucks customers are people with discretionary income who are battling the hustle and bustle of their busy lives, trying to balance everything they have going on personally and professionally—people dealing with the daily grind that can wear us all down from time to time.


The content for this article was taken from The Customer Service Revolution: Overthrow convention Business, Inspire

Employees, and Change the World, (January 2015 Greenleaf Books)

by John R. DiJulius III

Personalize—This means customization. With over eighty thousand ways someone can order a Starbucks beverage, you truly can have it your way.

Own—Starbucks trusts its employees. They can own the experience. If a little girl drops her hot chocolate, a Starbucks employee can give her a new one for free.

Each of the pillars is critical, but only in conjunction with each other. Customers want their drinks made exactly how they ordered it, quickly—but not by someone with an attitude. Just the same, a

Customer does not want someone to greet them by name and have their drink ready for them before they order it, only to have their drink made incorrectly.

Big Impact The Starbucks service vision statement contributed to the company’s turnaround in 2010 and 2011. Earnings rose 44 percent, Customer visits rose by 5 percent, and more Customers were paying for higher-priced items.

Why is the service vision statement printed on the inside of the green apron? It isn’t for the Customers or public to see; it is for the Starbucks employees to see. And every time they put that apron over their head, they are reminded of their job for every Customer with whom they come in contact with.

Pillars to the service vision statement The four pillars to the Starbucks service vision statement have to do with the company’s key drivers of Customer satisfaction:

Anticipate—This might mean that if a barista notices a Customer in a business suit, at 6:05 a.m., ordering his coffee, while barely looking up from his smartphone, he probably has some place to be. Get him his drink and help him get on his way. On the other hand, it can be a completely different pace at 9:05 a.m., when a barista encounters a few mothers who just dropped their children off at school and seem to be in no rush.

Connect—A connection could be recognizing regulars and having their drinks ready for them, or it could just be a smile or a kind word.


John R. DiJulius III is considered the authority on world-class Customer service and is the author of three books on Customer experience. He is the president of The DiJulius Group—a Customer service consulting fi rm that works with companies like Starbucks, Chick-fi l-A, The Ritz-Carlton, Nestle, PwC, Lexus, and many more. John is also the founder and owner of John Robert’s Spa—named one of the Top 20 Salons in America


You are in the middle of your second or third good discussion with a

prospect and everything seems to be going great. The prospect seems engaged and happy to work with you.

Then prospect poses an innocent sounding question, “So, how big is your company?”

Without hesitation, you answer that question. You recite, more or less verbatim, the standard reply you were trained to recite when people ask you about the size of your company. The answer laid out for you in your orientation workshops, promotion materials, and brochures: 85 employees, a headquarters location, and 3 other regional offices across Atlantic.

The prospect nods and the conversation continues.

Although there are plenty of smiles, pleasantries, and earnest promises

to be in touch as you wrap up your meeting, the

oddest thing

takes place once you leave the building... All forward motion stops.

The prospect no longer returns your calls. Your emails receive ambiguous replies and weeks pass by. You’re off the prospect’s radar screen. You find that no one else in the company seems willing to acknowledge your attempts to reach out. It’s like the prospect has ordered everyone in the enterprise to deny your company’s existence.

What happened?!? You answered all the prospect’s questions!

My belief system states you should only answer your prospects’ questions if doing so can help you... or at least it can’t hurt you.

Since prospects tend to “smokescreen” their questions - meaning that they tend to ask questions whose true purposes aren’t likely to be clear to you at first - you must make sure, first and foremost,

that you’re answering the real question.

Guess what? When that prospect so innocently

asked, “How big is your company?”

the real question

was: “Will you be able to handle a 4-province distribution schedule?”

As it happens, you can handle a 4-province distribution schedule. But the answer your company taught you to repeat only mentions one province. And that was enough (non)-information for this prospect to tune you out... without telling you why.

In most cases, and especially in the early going, you have to assume that every question you hear from a prospect is a smokescreen question.

So the question, “How soon can you get shipment to us?” may mean, “Can you get shipment to us by 10:30 Thursday morning?” The question, “How strict are you with quantity discounts?” may mean, “Can I take advantage of the quantity discount and arrange for a 14-day split-shipment?”.

If you make a habit of answering the first question you hear, you’ll never understand the real question!

You must discover why the prospect asked you the question you just heard. You must identify the underlying intent.

BY: ERIC FRY, MANAGING PARTNER, SANDLER TRAINING

Right Questions, Right TimeThe Importance and True Relevance of a Question


Intent: The importance and true relevance of the question to the topic of discussion.

If you don’t know the intent you cannot respond intelligently.

How do you identify the intent? By Reversing.

Reversing is the strategy of responding to your prospect’s questions and statements with a question. It puts the verbal ball back in the prospect’s court.

Reversing prevents you from attempting to mind-read. It adds clarity and completeness to the prospect’s smokescreen questions and statements. It helps you uncover the underlying intent of those questions and statements.

Some reversing questions include:

Why do you ask?

Why is that important?

Why did you bring that up just now?

What are you really asking?

What are you really saying?

Reversing must be done with caution. Firing back with questions in response to the prospect’s

questions may sound harsh. So in most cases, you will want to precede your

questions with softening statements.

That’s a good question. And you’re asking me that because...?

Many people ask me that. And that’s important to you because...?

That’s an interesting question. Why do you ask? (What brought that up?)

Good point. And you brought that up now because...?

I appreciate you sharing that. I can’t help wondering, what are you really saying?

Often it takes three or more reverses to get the prospect’s real question.

In this case, if you had asked effective Reversing questions, you could have gotten to the prospect’s true question and

confirmed that a 4-province roll-out was no problem.

And you would still be in the game.

Eric Fry is Managing Partner with Sandler Training. Prior to Sandler Training, Eric worked for a number of well-known, international organizations including Xerox and Staples Advantage while honing his skills in sales and leadership throughout his career.


Ever since I identified Labor Productivity as the #1 key to

profitability in my book “Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!”, I have continued to research how the best teams produce more than their peers.

Professional sports teams offer a good laboratory for this discussion. The NFL presents the best picture since they have a labor agreement that imposes a “salary cap” that prevents any team from spending more than the cap amount any one year. I offer up the New England Patriots as the best example of this. They have made it to the playoffs 12 out the last 14 years and won 3 Super Bowls. During that same time period, the Oakland Raiders have not even come close to the playoffs.

Clearly, the Patriots have produced more output for every dollar they spent than the Raiders. This requires every dollar spent to be productive. Every position player, every coach, and every front office person has to do their job to select the right players, negotiate a fair pay for performance, develop a successful game strategy, coach the players to be ready, and execute to their best ability during game time.

Your business is no different. I contend that every business has a natural salary cap that they must live under. For every level of revenue, in every industry, businesses have a common cost structure they must live by. The only thing that changes the non-labor costs in business is the actions of exceptional team members. If you have exceptional

managers who select, lead, and manage their team, only

then will you be able to beat the competition.

Sounds great, but it is hard to do. I have come to believe that the missing element is compensating your team “equitably” not “equally.” As I have been able to study my clients’ data, it has become evident to me that productive people want to work around other productive people. They also want to be recognized with reasonable differences in pay based on their measurable (or perceived) performance. This is what we refer to as “Market Based Pay for Market Based Performance.”

Whether you try to keep wages confidential or are open book like my company is, your team has a way to find out (or guess) what their peers make. I do not recommend it for every business, but if you do not hide compensation, it causes fewer headaches if you truly strive for no inequities in pay of your team. Internet sources for comparable pay like Glassdoor.com and Salary.com make readily available data for pay comparison. What you need to do is establish your process to coach your team through where they stand to how they can make more by producing more.

In Adam Grant’s blog from giveandtake.com, I read a quote that really struck me:

Equal or Equitable Pay? How to Get Top Team PerformanceBY: GREG CRABTREE, PARTNER, CRABTREE, ROWE & BERGER, PC

“Equity matters more than equality. Differences in pay aren’t a problem as long as they’re fair. When players are paid less than teammates who aren’t performing any better, jealousy, resentful, and discouragement often follow. When they’re paid less than teammates who deliver more value, they understand.”

I could not agree more. Your team knows who is productive and who is not. Your job is to take action before the productive ones leave you for a more equitable position. Why would you be the Oakland Raiders when you could be the New England Patriots?

Greg Crabtree, Author of Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits, is a partner at Crabtree, Rowe & Berger, PC, an accounting firm focused solely on the needs of entrepreneurs, helping them build the economic engine of their businesses.


BY: GREG VAN GINKEL, KNIGHT ARCHER INSURANCE

Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation Monitoring Acceptance of Your Electronic Communications

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The new Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) is not about

SPAM, it is about monitoring acceptance of electronic communication. To that end the Canadian Government has imposed the strictest legislation of any country governing the authorization of sending electronic communication for business purposes. For the average person that means email and text messaging. The definition of business purposes is very broad and could include even the volunteering for your child’s sports team where you send emails or text messages for the collection of fees and dues. Contrary to popular belief, the legislation encompasses non profit groups and organizations as well.

One thing that is certain, if you are a business and you have customers, you are required by law to obtain a person’s “consent” to communicate via electronic means. This means a person must also have the option to “unsubscribe” from the communication. A business can not

consent on behalf of its employees.

The penalties for non compliance are severe. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has already imposed fines, one to a single company (Compu-Finder), in an amount of $1.1 million for not obtaining consents (four violations).

The Toronto Star reported in March that the CRTC receives about 1,000 complaints a day.

As an added deterrent, Directors and Officers of businesses and organizations can be held personally liable for an offense.

Knight Archer, like many businesses is concerned over the issue and has made efforts to be in compliance with legislation. We have contracted and partnered with an outside supplier who has created a simple solution. That supplier is Fario.

We looked at the ease of gathering consents, the ease of administering removal of consents and the security of the system itself. Fario is the best solution to a problem every business in Canada faces.

We opted for a cloud based system which could be accessed from anywhere through the internet. It is available 24/7 and has off site storage and backup. Best of all, the “consent” or “unsubscribe” is confirmed to

the person giving consent and can not be manipulated by the organization. Consents can not be added without the person knowing.

Knight Archer thought it would be a great idea to have an insurance defense mechanism available in the event the CRTC tries to fine a corporation who follows the legislation. To that extent we have provided the Fario CASL compliance tool with a defense insurance policy through DAS, a Global Leader in Defense Insurance. It is included with any paid subscription.

As an added benefit, DAS has included unlimited telephone legal advice for businesses. The first call to the legal advice service is worth the annual subscription cost of the entire compliance subscription tool.

Subscribe at www.fario.ca



Life Insurance Policies Your Corporation and Your CDA

An owner of a Canadian Corporation has two primary choices that will

allow life insurance proceeds to be paid out tax free. One is to personally pay for the policy; the second is to corporately pay, own, and receive proceeds from the policy. There is a mechanism to pay these proceeds out tax free through the corporation’s capital dividend account (CDA).

The cost of policy premiums are often the most important to business owners. Imagine that Larry owns a Canadian corporation. He is applying for a permanent life insurance policy with

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Equitable Life Insurance Company and has a monthly premium of $1,000. Larry’s personal tax rate is 46% and his corporation’s tax rate is 25%. If Larry purchases the policy personally, he will have to earn $1,852 in order to have $1,000 after tax to pay the monthly premium. However, if Larry’s corporation owns and funds his life insurance policy, the corporation would have to earn only $1,333 before tax to fund the $1,000 monthly premium. The result is that Larry saves around $6,000/year when the premiums are paid with corporate dollars.

To find out if your Corporation qualifies and find out more about tax free benefits through the CDA, contact Joel Sopp, Knight Archer Corporate Insurance Broker.

[email protected] • 306-531-2751


BY: JOEL SOPP, SENIOR LIFE INSURANCE BROKER, KNIGHT ARCHER INSURANCE


According to the latest research from Content Marketing Institute, just

38% of marketers say they are finding success with content marketing. With nine in 10 marketers doing some kind of content marketing, but yet the majority “failing” at it, we have a significant problem. In many cases, marketers are doing the wrong things. Here’s five thoughts you need to be thinking about right now if you want to take your program to the next level.

1. Take “best of breed” seriously Ninety-nine percent of companies

BY: JOE PULIZZI, FOUNDER OF CONTENT MARKETING INSTITUTE, AUTHOR OF EPIC CONTENT MARKETING

Steps to the Next LevelTake Your Content Marketing Strategy to the Next Level

don’t do this. In my third book, Epic Content Marketing, I talk about six principles that are essential to epic content marketing. The sixth, and perhaps most important, is setting a goal/mission to be the “best of breed” informational provider for your industry niche — i.e., to truly be the leading informational resource for your industry.

Ask yourself this: If your content marketing disappeared from the planet, would anyone miss it?

If no one would miss your information, you’ve got work to do. Start by setting your goal, then set up the processes and invest in the people you need to reach that goal.

2. Follow the “3-legged-stool” model Almost every successful media company in the world leverages the “3-Legged-Stool” model: creating content for digital, print (print magazine or newsletter), and in-person (customer event or series of customer meetings). I believe that if your brand doesn’t leverage all three channels in a meaningful way, you cannot truly be an industry-leading informational source.

Beyond that, there is a huge opportunity in leveraging print channels specifically. Just think of it like the value of a trade show where all your customers are in attendance, but none of your competition showed up. That’s the value print content marketing currently represents. I smell opportunity.

3. Leverage native advertising while you can In a recent LinkedIn native advertising* post, I wrote the following:

Publishers are using native to survive and grow. Brands are using native to steal audience from the publisher. It’s that simple.

I’m not sure how long publishers in your industry will offer native advertising opportunities. If I’m a brand, I’m going to want to go all-in

on leveraging native to steal as much audience as possible. Look into it.

4. Kill a channel Here’s a publishing truth: It’s likely that, with each new channel you add to your content marketing plan, the other channels you are already using will take a small hit in quality and focus. I’ve seen this time and again as our concentration goes wider and our relevance gets broader.

I’d like to challenge you to kill a channel (or two) and put a renewed focus on the channels that are most worthy of your time and attention. Be amazing: Be great at distributing content through three channels; use another three to heavily promote that content; and forget the rest… at least for a while. Then check the results.

5. Begin with the end in mind If you’ve read Stephen Covey’s long-time best-selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, you’ll recognize this one as the second habit: Begin with the End in Mind. In Covey’s words:

It focuses on what you want to be and do. It is your plan for success. It reaffirms who you are, puts your goals in focus, and moves your ideas into the real world.

If you don’t know what you want to be, in terms of your content marketing, when you grow up, how will you know if you are on the right path?

Things to do: Create your content marketing mission statement.

Set a subscriber goal for your content.

Decide what you ultimately want subscribers to do.

Answer the question, “How Will We Know We Are Succeeding?“

Joe Pulizzi is the founder of Content Marketing Institute and author of Epic Content Marketing. Joe can be reached on Twitter @JoePulizzi.

* Native Advertising

A Directly Paid Opportunity. Native advertising is “pay to play”. If a brand or individual did not pay for the spot, it’s not native advertising.

Usually Content Based. The information is useful, interesting and highly targeted to the specific readership. In all likelihood, it’s not an advertisement promoting the company’s product or service directly.

Delivered In-Stream. The user experience is not disrupted. The advertising is delivered in a way that does not impede the normal behavior of the user in that particular channel.

Again, the goal of native advertising is to not disrupt the user experience…to offer information that is somewhat helpful and similar to the other information on the site so that the content is engaged with at a higher rate than, say, a banner ad.



Dreams That Start With a BoomBusiness Profile - ZARKOR HOMES

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Shaheen Zareh had always dreamt of owning his own business. He didn’t

idealize about the privileges or the profit that might come from entrepreneurship; instead he meticulously planned a path of personal success by way of hard work. But like most things in life, there can sometimes be an element of good fortune required to ignite the first inception of a dream—after all luck is where opportunity meets preparedness.

In 2009 an unprecedented boom

was happening in Saskatchewan.

Demand for housing and construction was on the rise and Shaheen, now president of Zarkor Construction, knew the timing was finally right to launch his own company—He created Zarkor Homes and Zarkor Construction.

But a successful company can’t stand alone on the legs of a good opportunity—and Shaheen knew this. He quickly established a foundation of values for his business to uphold which would set him apart from the competition and keep his business thriving for years to come.

“When I think about the number one complaint from new home owners it’s mostly that their builder didn’t remain accountable after handing over the keys”, says Shaheen. So Zarkor has a simple policy—100% accountability with 0 excuses. “We also source only the very best products for our builds, so we encounter less defects overall”. Shaheen

points out that, “it’s often the little touches in a home that can either delight or frustrate buyers and we work hard to make sure that those items are perfect”.

Zarkor has proven they are versatile tackling both small and large projects, specializing in new homes, multi-unit properties, renovations and even custom homes ranging in value of over a million dollars. And perhaps their signature service lies in their experience in the infill business. An infill build is the process of tearing down dilapidated properties in older, character neighborhoods, and building something new. Throughout their gentrification process Zarkor always tries their best to adapt the infill homes to the overall personality of the neighborhood.

But perhaps the key component to

Shaheen’s dream becoming reality lies in the

people he employs.

“Our people are who we are and they make our process seamless and effective. We’re not perfect but it’s how we deal with our mistakes that make the difference. From carpentry to salesmanship we lead the way in our industry”, and Shaheen is very proud of that.

That’s also the reason that Shaheen chooses to do business with Knight Archer Insurance. “The professionals at Knight Archer always take the time to sit down and find the right product for my business and their people are accountable to the services they offer. They have an impressive track record like us and they got that by being leaders in their industry too”.


eBroker™ SoftwareKnight Archer Transforms the Way Brokerages Do Business

“Any idea is only as valuable as its ability to

solve a problem”.

In 2013 the BDC reported that 29% of consumers had begun to turn to

Online portals to access or amend their insurance products and services. And thanks to the rapid uptake of Online purchasing, every year since, that percentage has continued to rise. This is presenting quite a problem in an industry slow to adapt to burgeoning consumer demands.

In a rapidly expanding Online world consumers require fast, efficient ways of doing business, the option to self-serve, mobile and remote access and Online security. To solve the problem of heightening consumer expectations Knight Archer Insurance had a simple idea—proactively create custom built, revolutionary software and marketing solutions for the business—rather than waiting for the industry to provide them.

“The eBroker™ software we have developed aims to transform the way brokerages interact with their clients, providing them greater value in the consumer transaction process,” says Sara Ashton, eBroker Spokesperson at Knight Archer Insurance. “It will also be a powerful tool for streamlining the internal operation of a brokerage. The software is intuitive, advanced and user-friendly”.

The technology behind eBroker™ is a robust code set designed with the intention to connect, via direct feed, to any number of existing broker management systems. Once integrated, the software can be customized to accommodate a brokerage’s internal

workflow processes, optimize customer retention/relations and provide critical analytic systems data.

As for the client benefits, the customer user-interface can be built directly into a business’s website and provides similar utility to an Online banking portal. The eBroker™ software provides a seamless way for customers to manage insurance policies, report claims, pay invoices, receive notices and renew vehicle registrations.

“On one hand we had to find a way to adapt to consumers becoming more comfortable with doing eBusiness and this meant finding creative ways to help our clients manage their insurance services,” says Sara, “and on the other hand we desperately wanted to move past some of the out-dated programs the industry currently offers and increase the efficiency of our internal operations through advancing software utility. With eBroker we’ve even been able to capitalize on go-green cost-savings. Not to mention position ourselves as leaders in the Online insurance market.”

But Knight Archer Insurance doesn’t plan to simply use eBroker™ for their own business; President and Principle Broker, James Archer, plans to sell it. “This software

application is unlike anything currently available to brokerages,” says James, “In developing it, we’ve generated a huge opportunity for ourselves and others.”

In the future, Knight Archer aims to establish joint-venture development plans with the leading Broker Management Systems providers with the goal to launch eBroker to the Canadian software market in the Spring of 2015.

For more information visit www.knightarcher.com or contact Sara Ashton at [email protected]

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