We invite you to join the premier roster of tenants and consider Westwood Office Park for your future business location.

Locally owned Virginia Partners Bank offers the conveniences of a big bank, but with all of the individual attention and flexibility of a small one. President Bill Young gives this example, “We fancy ourselves as a speed boat on the Rappahannock, and the others (the big banks) are destroyers. They can’t move as quickly.” Customers can do all their banking completely online or visit either the main office in downtown Fredericksburg or the convenient Westwood Office Park location.

Owner of Crown Trophy, Chris Hara has been providing top of the line awards for any occasion for over seven years. He, his wife and daughter run the business and pride themselves on a high level of customer service, not making mistakes, and having a very fast turn-around on their products. Mr. Hara notes that Crown Trophy isn’t just a trophy store; they also sell plaques, medals, cups, pins, acrylic and crystal awards, and do a lot of engraving so as to personalize gifts, as well as awards.

Whether you live in Fredericksburg or simply desire to locate your company in an outstanding business environment, Westwood Office Park offers a reach of more than 5400 businesses that are located within a 25 minute drive of the property and a population of over 300,000 people.

By: David Curtis

Unless you’ve been doing business on Mars (or Venus), you’re aware of all the buzz out there about brands and branding. But to grow your brand, you have to move beyond the talk and adopt a practical plan of action. As always, it starts with some fundamentals.

What is a brand?

A brand is a relationship — the connection between your customers and your company or product. Like all human relationships, this connection is based on experience, attitudes and expectations. “Branding” is about shaping and deepening that relationship.

Think about your own choices as a consumer. Why will you pay more for a suit with an Armani label? What makes New Yorkers go out of their way for an H&H bagel? Why have you bookmarked Google, but not Ask Jeeves? In each case, the answer has to do with how you think and feel about these brands. Clients sometimes say to me, “I can’t spend time and money building my brand — I’m too busy building my business.” But that’s a false choice. A strong brand makes your business more visible and more credible. So instead of your constantly seeking customers, they may find you. Also, at a time when it’s tough to find a real, lasting competitive edge in the marketplace, a strong brand can give you that edge. It increases the perceived value of your product or service, which can translate into higher prices and profits. And a strong brand commands loyalty, which means better customer retention. So although you many not find any line item on your balance sheet called “Brand Value,” a strong brand is one of your company’s greatest business assets. Another misconception I often hear: “I’m no Coke or Nike — branding is just for the big guys.” Wrong. Whether you’re a global powerhouse or a local start-up, branding is crucial to your business. And starting small actually has its advantages: You’ve got a clean slate to work with. Nothing to undo or un-brand. And small investments yield bigger returns. Besides, nobody wants to stay small forever. Think like a big brand and you’ll find it easier to become one. Let’s get started.

Understand what a brand is — and is not

A brand is a bond — meaning both a connection and a promise. Therefore, branding is bonding. When you consistently deliver on your brand promise, you strengthen the bond between you and your customers. There are both rational and emotional aspects to the brand bond; but, if anything, how your customers feel about you is more important than what they think about you. Take the Apple brand. Mac users will intellectualize (at great length!) about crash-free operating systems and elegant interfaces, but what really comes through is their passion. That brand loyalty and devotion has helped Apple defy the conventional wisdom of the PC-dominated marketplace. It has also helped them charge a premium for their products. Emotion is where great brands live. Don’t confuse “brand” with “corporate identity.” Sure, you need a good logo and consistent graphic standards but these are just visual expressions of your brand. Before you develop a corporate identity, get a handle on your brand identity. Also, your brand is not you. Especially for entrepreneurs just getting started, it’s natural to blur the distinction. But long-term, it can be a trap. Think of the day when you want to sell your business; what will the buyers be paying for? Not you — you’ll be off playing golf in Arizona. They’ll be buying your brand.

Scope out the competitive “brand-scape”

Step back and assess your competitors with a critical, objective eye. Which ones do you think have well-defined brands? What do they stand for? What kind of customer — or customer need — do they appeal to?

What you’re looking for is a gap in the brand-scape where you can build your brand, a strategic opportunity that plays to your brand’s strengths. Or its potential.

We’re not looking for a niche. Ideally, you want to occupy the “high ground.” That’s the place in your category that has the most basic, powerful consumer promise, and the greatest source of business.

In the heyday of “reach out and touch someone,” the AT&T brand owned the high ground of long distance — human connection.

Do any of your competitors yet occupy the high ground? Could you?

Define your “brand space”

This is the more rational component of your brand — the space you want to occupy in customers’ minds. Think about the functional benefits you deliver to them. Identify the one or two that are most critical to your business. What promise is solid enough to build your brand on? Speed? Innovation? Customer service? Value?

Just as important, this exercise also helps you identify what you’re not. Because a brand that tries to be all things to all people may not be much of anything to anyone. Focus! It’s demanding, but for brand-builders it’s vital.

Example: Did Manhattan really need yet another me-too dry cleaning establishment? No, but it needed someplace that knows how to care for upscale finery — and the fussy fashionistas who own it. Enter Meurice Garment Care. Quality and service (at a hefty premium) is what Meurice delivers. They’ve built a thriving business, a fleet of delivery vehicles and a tony brand on that platform.

Define your brand “personality”

Now we’re talking about the way your brand feels to your customers. It’s a much “squishier” area, because we’re dealing with human emotions. Here, it’s not so much what you say, but how you say it. Should your brand feel dignified or playful? Traditional or irreverent? Why does brand personality matter? Because while business owners might like to believe all buying decisions are fact-based, they’re often guided by feelings — feelings that attract us to certain brands the same way we’re attracted to certain people, out of loyalty, or security, or sex appeal. For example: There are seven different day-spas within five blocks of my wife’s office. They can all manicure her nails equally well. But she always goes to the one that’s farthest away. Why? The owners and staff always greet her by name and fuss over her a little. They don’t just polish her nails; they buff her ego. She is bonded to that place like acrylic. You can’t change your own personality, but you can shape your brand’s. What’s the glue that will bond your customers to your brand?

Dare to be different

A strong brand is a “tie-breaker.” If it’s a toss-up between you and a competitor, customers will choose you just because they feel better about your brand. But you can’t be perceived as better unless you’re perceived as different.  Trouble is, these days it’s increasingly hard to create a real difference in your product or service. And when you do, it gets knocked off by your competitors practically overnight.  But you can differentiate your brand. It takes a little guts to be different. But if you understand your customers and differentiate yourself on the basis of what they need, you can create preference.

Take the line of Crunch Health Clubs in Manhattan. Are their fitness machines really any different than those at the Health & Racquet Clubs? No, but their brand is. It’s an attitude — an irreverence that says it’s OK if you don’t conform. If you’re not a perfect physical specimen, like most of us, that’s a powerful emotional appeal. Enough to build a pretty healthy business. You started out in business because you believed you had something different and better to offer. Trust that instinct.

Consistency pays dividends

Your brand character and personality should find their way into every aspect of your business. I call it “360 degrees Branding.” Every place your brand touches your customer — brochures, packaging, uniforms, letterheads, signage, advertising — should feel like the same experience.  All employees must become your “brand ambassadors.” Even the way your receptionist greets people on the phone can support your brand. The care and feeding of your brand is your responsibility, but it’s everybody’s job.  If you haven’t already, check out one of Apple’s local retail stores. See how “Apple-ness” surrounds you in everything from the white-on-white décor to the user-friendly displays to the “Genius Bar” where support is just a geek away. In fact, the store itself is the Apple brand come to life. Simple. Uncluttered. And totally cool.  When all your branding efforts are focused and single-minded, it’s like an eight-person crew rowing their shell in unison. One or two oars out of sync can really slow you down.

Invest in your brand — wisely

You don’t need a big, separate “branding budget” or a special ad campaign to build your brand. Start small, and start with the basics.

Since consistency is so important, one smart place to invest a little money up front might be to create some graphic standards for your brand — your “look.” If you don’t have a logo, create one. You can hire a good designer, or use one of the Web-based design services that do this very inexpensively. Just remember that your logo, and your look, must reflect your brand’s personality.

Build and brand a website, even if it’s just a simple page or two with your logo, your capabilities and contact info. Your brand will seem bigger. And you’ll walk taller.

Be different. Find innovative and cost-effective ways to make your brand visible. Would pizza-box inserts be out of the question? Consider public relations. Do something newsworthy — getting your brand involved with a charitable cause is good for your soul, and often good for some free press.

Most of all, invest some time in your brand. Use these basics as a checklist, and think about them carefully. What competitive “brand-scape” do you operate in? What should your brand stand for? What is its personality? Are you different enough? Are you being consistent in all the ways your brand touches your customer? As a small company, you can’t afford to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on branding, so all of your employees, your website and your marketing materials need to convey what your brand is all about.

Here’s the critical thing for a business owner to remember about branding: You don’t really have a choice. Consciously or not, by design or by neglect, for better or for worse, you are already creating your brand. So why not do it well?

That way, you’ll enjoy the best of both worlds: a business that builds your brand and a brand that builds your business.

Payroll refers to the tasks an employer must execute to ensure employees are paid accurately and on time. An independent contractor is not an employee; therefore, he’s not paid through the payroll. As a small-business owner with both employees and independent contractors, it is important that you know the differences between the two.

To determine whether an individual is an employee or an independent contractor, the Internal Revenue Service says you must figure out the type of business relationship that exists. Two keys factors involved in making this determination are the amount of control and independence in the relationship. In general, if an individual provides services for you and you can control what will be done and how it will be executed, then she’s an employee. If you have the right to direct or control only the result of the work but not what or how it will be performed, then the individual is an independent contractor. Specifically, an independent contractor is self-employed, while an employee works for you.

To compensate employees for services performed, you use a payroll system, such as payroll software or outsourcing your payroll tasks to a service provider. If you have an independent contractor who performed work for you, do not pay her through payroll, as this can lead to a number of problems. For example, you are likely required to pay federal and state unemployment tax on a certain amount of wages paid to each employee for the year. You are not required to pay unemployment tax on monies paid to an independent contractor. Therefore, paying a contractor through payroll can lead to tax and record-keeping problems. If you have independent contractors, pay them through accounts payables instead. An independent contractor may have her own employees or independent contractors; in this case, she’s responsible for paying her own employees through payroll or her contractors through an accounting system.

As an employer, you are supposed to give new hires a Form W-4 to complete; the form helps you determine the amount of federal income tax to withhold from their paychecks. You are also supposed to give applicable employees a Form W-2 by the end of January each year so they can file their tax return with the IRS and applicable state agency. Further, you are supposed to file the W-2 with the Social Security Administration so the employee can get credit for Social Security and Medicare benefits. You are supposed to give new independent contractors a Form W-9 to complete; the contractor includes her name and taxpayer identification number on the form. As of 2011, if you paid $600 or more to an independent contractor for services during the year, you must complete and give the employee a Form 1099-MISC by January 31 and file the form with the IRS. Also, you are supposed to withhold Medicare tax, Social Security tax, Federal income tax and applicable state and local taxes from employees’ paychecks. This process is done through payroll. You must also pay all employees’ withholding to the respective taxation agency. You do not withhold taxes for independent contractors, as they are responsible for paying their own self-employment taxes.

By Stephanie Chen

If you feel like your cubicle walls are closing in around you, you may be right.

A combination of the troubled economy and the influx of mobile technology is changing the workplace landscape. Literally.

Companies across the country are shrinking those boxed-in work areas or scrapping the notion of the once-ubiquitous cubicles altogether.

At Tech-Giant Intel, employees who used to work in a 72-square-foot space now work in a cozier 48-square-foot station, company officials say.

“Everyone used to get a cube, but that doesn’t work for the way people actually do their work today,” said Neil Tunmore, Director of Corporate Services at Intel, who spearheaded the corporate redesign that began in 2007.

In 1994, the average office worker had 90 square feet of office space, but the area had been whittled down to 75 square feet in 2010, according to the International Facility Management Association, a professional network for the facility management industry.

Space for senior office workers shrunk, too, from 115 square feet in 1994 to 96 square feet in 2010.

But not to worry, that corner office keeps growing. During this same time, space for executive management actually increased.

Gensler, a design firm in San Francisco has renovated spaces for 70% of the Fortune 500 companies. On average, they estimate those companies have downsized the cubicle from an 8-by-10 foot area to a 5-by-5 foot work space.

Open-space seating found at companies such as Facebook are becoming a popular “team-oriented” model in the past 10 years, she says.

“In recent years, we’ve seen how companies are trying to shed real estate cost,” says Shari Epstein, Director of Research at the IFMA. “When you have less space to work, you will try to cram as many people into one space.”

The word “cubicle,” which emerged in the 15th century, is derived from the Latin word for bedroom. But the office partitions to which most white-collars workers are accustomed were introduced in the late 1960s. At the time, Robert Propst with Herman Miller Inc. of Michigan pioneered the idea of a more efficient open-office model called “Action Office,” which became known as the cubicle.

Cubicles became attractive because they were a functional way to give workers an office without relying on heavy construction, says Lisa Bottom, a Design Director at Gensler.

Over the years, cubicles have been mocked in popular culture such as the Dilbert comics and the movie “Office Space.”

“The panels made it so you could move it around,” Bottom said. “It made the job of the facility manager easier; it had little to do with making the worker’s life easier.”

Several of the companies that have opted to reduce their cubicle sizes say their reasoning goes beyond simply boosting the bottom line.

With flat screens replacing clunky monitors and the growing popularity of wireless products, such as laptops, iPads and BlackBerries, some managers say cubicles no longer make sense for workers who don’t need to be tethered to their desks. And employees in the younger, more tech-savvy generation embrace the idea of working remotely and from different spots in the office.

Smaller office spaces come with environmental perks. Less space reduces the carbon footprint, workplace design experts say.

In response to the shrinking workspace, sales of new lines of slimmer, lighter, eco-friendly furniture that often serve dual purposes have increased, says John Michael, General Manager for Business Interiors at Staples, a leading office furniture seller.

For example, filing cabinets with plush tops that transform into seats and thinner cubicle panels have been in higher demand over the past five years, he says.

Intel officials say when the cubicle downsizing began in four years ago, they eliminated extra furniture and waste. On one office floor, the company disposed of nearly 10 tons of paper, says Tunmore at Intel.

While cubicle farms may be out, open shared spaces are in.

Intel has created more conference and meeting rooms where employees can collaborate. Intel is also going wireless. About 30% of their employees in the renovated space don’t have assigned cubicles, officials say.

Instead, sales people and laptop users can grab chairs at kidney-shaped desks where they can boot up remotely.

So how are employees adjusting to less work space?

Martha Johnson, Administrator of the General Services Administration, says the government has improved its efficiency by overhauling the large, clunky outdated cubicles spaces for the past few decades. GSA is a federal organization that rents out office space to government agencies.

Many employees don’t mind the smaller work spaces, Johnson says. She added that 30% to 50% of work space typically isn’t used because of meetings or travel.

“It’s not about making it smaller,” Johnson says. “It’s about making it more flexible. People don’t all want their own space.”

But Jeffrey Pfeffer, a Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford Business School, says working in such close quarters may bother some employees who need more privacy or feel crowded.

After all, he says, employees spend almost half their day at work.

“Cubicles, and often times many of these cubicle farms, don’t have very good acoustics, and so you are hearing other people and getting distracted,” Pfeffer said.

There is also the belief, particularly among baby boomers, that cubicles are a status indicator: More space equates to more power, workplace design experts say.

Though it tends to be rarer case, some companies are taking the opposite approach to shaving off cubicle work spaces.

For two years in a row, Fortune magazine has named SAS, a business intelligence software company in North Carolina, the No. 1 place to work. Company officials say they give almost all their employees private offices, which they say contributes to their success.

“We do value an employee not just as a commodity,” says Jim Davis, Senior Marketing Officer. “But as an asset.”

By Bill Cushard

The best way for learning professionals to demonstrate their influence and get a seat at the table is to think like a CEO – or at the very least, understand the business leaders’ goals and put learning programs in place to help achieve those goals. And one way to learn about what CEOs care about is to read books by CEOs.

I just finished reading Doing What Matters: How to Get Results That Make a Difference – The Revolutionary Old-School Approach, by James M. Kilts, the former Chairman and CEO of The Gillette Company. One of the main messages in the book is to focus on the fundamentals of what business is all about and to stay focused on those fundamentals. Kilts lays out three business fundamentals that I think every learning professional should understand.

• Step 1: Keeping things simple.
• Step 2: Revenue growth
• Step 3: Get unnecessary costs out of the system (and use the savings to invest in growing revenues)

So what does this mean for the learning and development managers and HR leaders? For me personally, it has inspired me to focus more on the fundamentals of what the learning and development function should do. And that is to help the organization improve performance; specifically, performance in revenue growth and getting unnecessary costs out of the system. To help focus our attention on helping the business achieve its objectives, we are putting into place a process to screen out training requests that do not support the business goals. When we conduct a needs analysis or field a training request we will ask the following questions:

• Will this intervention improve revenue? How?
• Will this intervention increase productivity and/or reduce costs? How?

If the answer to either of these questions is “No,” we won’t implement the proposed intervention. This simple screen does not replace the needs analysis process. In fact, it becomes part of the needs analysis process, and it helps focus us on what really matters to the business.

How do you focus on supporting business goals in your organization?

Westwood Office Park is conveniently located off Interstate 95. We offer flexible lease terms and the ability to expand or reduce your offices as needed. The property offers many amenities including high speed broadband Internet, in-suite climate control, in-suite restrooms and is within walking distance to banks, restaurants, hotels and office supply stores.

For leasing information, please contact us at *202-329-7711* or email us.

By Geoffrey James

Today’s B2B buyers are vastly different from the B2B buyers of just a decade ago. If you want to be successful in B2B sales, you need to understand how the buyers are different.

Traditionally, B2B buyers primarily relied upon sales reps to provide information and expertise about the products that their firm needed to purchase. As such, sales reps in a certain sense were in the transportation and delivery business.

The typical sales rep spent much of his or her time carrying product information from the company to the customer. Sales calls involved showing the latest brochure, delivering a product presentation, and explaining the benefits to the customer. This behavior was of value to the customer because the sales rep was presenting information that the customer needed in order to make a buying decision.

The Internet, however, has now made that sales methodology obsolete. Using the Internet, customers can get product information at the same time as the sales rep, not just about the sales rep’s offerings, but the offerings of all of the rep’s competitors.

In this environment, product brochures and elaborate product pitches are meaningless because the customer already knows what to buy and can locate multiple places to buy it. As a result, the importance of the sales rep to the customer as a deliverer of information has waned, almost to the point of non-existence.

Similarly, the Internet has vastly increased the ability of customers to set their own price. In the past, the simple mechanics of gathering data on competitive products (and comparing relative prices) was a formidable job, requiring many man-hours of work on the part of the customer.

Such work was productive only when the customer was comparing products that were nearly identical, and where the difference in price was large enough to justify the effort required to uncover that difference.

For example, a company purchasing a complicated computer system could easily justify writing an RFP, reading multiple vendor proposals, and finally selecting the right vendor because the difference in price (or, more precisely, total cost of ownership) between the two competing systems was likely to be far greater than expense of the complex buying process.

However, in cases where the delta between the price of two competing products was relatively small, customers were naturally reluctant to go through such an expensive process. Instead, they’d depend upon local sales reps to provide basic product information and trust them to provide the best price. Often these relationship were “locked down” with the purchasing department, thereby guaranteeing that certain amount of buying behavior would take place going forward.

The net effect of such relationship was to leave the power of setting prices to the selling firm and (by extension) the sales rep who represented the firm. As long as the price was not egregiously higher than what else was available, the customer would continued to buy from the “approved vendor” at the price set by that vendor.

Today, however, customers can instantaneously compare products online, both in terms of functionality and price. Suddenly, it’s become relatively inexpensive for customers to search for the lowest prices for many goods and services that they might require.

This ability to easily and quickly find alternatives tend to drive prices downwards because, all other things being equal, the customer can now purchase the lower-priced product without carrying a heavy financial burden of researching alternatives.

Customers, and the processes they use to buy, have changed in other ways as well. Opportunities that were once within the purview of one, or perhaps two, decision-makers may now involve an entire committee. Complex sales that previously could have moved forward on the basis of general consensus among the buyer’s management team are today often subjected to increased levels of scrutiny and formal approval.

There are two sources to these changes in buying behavior. The first source is the economy. Many companies have reacted to the current recession by tightening financial controls and adding additional roadblocks, in order to limit purchasing to essential products and services.

The second source of the change in buying behavior is the flood of technology into the infrastructure of most corporations. Because organizations are better connected, they’re more inter-dependent, which means that large purchases – and the operational changes that they might involve – tend to ripple through a corporation, like a sharp tug on one strand of a gigantic web.

Today, it is not unusual to encounter opportunities where the customer’s senior management, procurement group, legal group, financial group, engineering group, and even human resources possessing the right to review and approve major purchases.

As a result, it is no longer enough for a sales professional to cultivate one or two key contacts inside an account. Instead, it’s now necessary to sell to all these constituencies, each of which is likely to have a different agenda and a different reason for being interested in the offering and its impact on the entire customer organization.

In addition, each element of this multitude of stakeholders has the potential to delay or block the purchase, which can create a truly Byzantine sales cycle. Large opportunities now take much longer to develop and close, and thus require sales reps to manage the process with both patience and precision.

This would be a big enough pain in the tuchus if it were merely timidity and risk avoidance on the part of the customer. In fact, the slower decision-making that results from greater levels of financial control often reflect the potential for very real disasters from the viewpoint of a selling firm and the people who represent it in a sales capacity.

For example, while large companies usually have little difficulty getting credit to make business purchase while still covering operating expenses, smaller firms are often at the mercy of a banking sector that’s reluctant to lend to any but the most stable corporations. As a result, it’s not always clear whether a customer who wishes to purchase, and intends to purchase, will actually have the money to purchase when it finally comes to paying.

Because of this, you are now expected to constantly re-qualify the financial viability of potential and existing customers. At the same time, you’ll need to get far more creative in terms of crafting purchasing terms that may need to accommodate problems with cash-flow. All of this takes time and effort, all of which must be layered atop whatever effort you’re already taking to develop and close the opportunity.

To summarize, today’s business buyers:

• Often know more about a product category than the sales rep.
• Can more easily make product and price comparisons.
• Are therefore better able to demand price concessions.
• Have increasingly complicated buying processes.
• Experience frequent changes in management.
• Are experiencing more extensive financial controls.
• Require sales professionals to work harder for the sale.

All of this is a good reason why it’s not enough, any longer, just to be good at sales or knowledgeable about your product. Instead, you need to understand the B2B buyer’s business and the B2B buyer’s customer, and then figure out how to manage whatever part of the business that the buyer is willing to delegate to you.

Westwood Office Park is conveniently located off Interstate 95. We offer flexible lease terms and the ability to expand or reduce your offices as needed. The property offers many amenities including high speed broadband Internet, in-suite climate control, in-suite restrooms and is within walking distance to banks, restaurants, hotels and office supply stores.

For leasing information, please contact us at 202-329-7711 or email us at leasing@westwoodofficepark.com

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During an economic slump, it’s tough for even the best sales professionals to close deals. Downturns prompt executives to slash discretionary spending as companies face intense pressure to show quick returns on investment and once-loyal customers eye cheaper competitors. But some companies still manage to close deals — or at least tee up for renewed sales in the inevitable rebound. Drawing on the successes of IBM and others, Howard Stevens, chairman and CEO of the HR Chally Group, and John Asher, chairman and CEO of sales training firm Asher, offer these five ways to make your sales organization a winner during a recession.

1. Don’t Devalue Your Product

During the 1973 recession, as competitors panicked, IBM made an unusual move: It raised prices. Big Blue took this step after embracing the marketing catchphrase “Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.” “Most people think in tough times you have to give a special offer or cut prices,” Stevens says. But that ends up devaluing the product — and the salesperson’s reputation. When prices fall dramatically, Stevens says, customers start to believe they were overpaying at the regular price or that the product is so cheap because there’s something wrong with it. Instead of slashing prices, consider offering additional services — such as longer guarantees or additional tech support — to make buyers feel like they’re getting more value for their money.

2. Stay Calm and Focus on Solutions

One of the worst mistakes a sales professional can make during a recession is to panic, says Stevens. Sales reps who act too aggressive or too hungry to make a sale will scare off potential customers, who are already worried about the fate of their own companies — and their jobs. Instead of hysteria, offer calm, focused solutions. “In a downturn, people are more concerned about safety and security than they are about high potential and big gain,” Stevens says. Sales pros should do background research to determine the biggest challenges and threats potential customers face, then shape their sales pitches around ways to minimize those threats.

3. Concentrate on Fewer Leads, but Contact Them More

Asher says his firm’s research shows it takes an average of 12 “contacts” — including e-mails, voice mails, face-to-face meetings, and phone conversations — to make a sale. “That increases in a recession,” he says. During a downturn it can take as many as 16 contacts to close a sale, because factors like tight credit and budget cuts lengthen the decision-making process. In a recession, sales reps should concentrate more of their efforts on a smaller group of potential clients. “The average salesperson will pick 50 prospects and give them just a little attention, usually quitting after three contacts,” Asher says. “Elite salespeople will pick their top 10 prospects and give them 15 or 16 contacts.”

4. Don’t Neglect Your Base

Focusing on new customers is crucial, but don’t ignore your existing customers or assume that they’re safe. Make sure they know their business is appreciated, and spend as much effort reaching out to them as you do contacting potential new clients. After all, it’s your existing clients who will carry you through a recession. “Losing them for the sake of new business will only cost you more in the end,” Stevens says.

5. Upgrade Your Sales Force

Recessions often trigger layoffs or the closure of entire firms, which means that scores of sales professionals are looking for new opportunities. That’s an opportunity for you to give your sales team more muscle. Asher suggests taking advantage of that pool of experienced labor and reorganizing your sales force to maximize its potential. His rule of thumb: Reassign or let go of the bottom third of your underperforming salespeople and replace them with fresh blood. But don’t stop there. Employee training is also essential to boost sales in a recession. Assign senior sales managers, or even executives, to act as personal coaches to the sales force. Meet regularly with your sales reps to review your products and services, discuss strategies and setbacks, and keep people motivated.

Westwood Office Park is conveniently located off Interstate 95. We offer flexible lease terms and the ability to expand or reduce your offices as needed. The property offers many amenities including high speed broadband Internet, in-suite climate control, in-suite restrooms and is within walking distance to banks, restaurants, hotels and office supply stores.

For leasing information, please contact us at 202-329-7711 or email us at leasing@westwoodofficepark.com

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In the current economic climate, everyone is attempting to ‘tighten their belt’ and save money. For small businesses, it isn’t just a matter of lowering expenses, but actual survival. Although especially effective for small business, these money saving tips can be applied to any size business and some may even help you at home as well.

1. Laptop computers can sometimes be used instead of standard desktop computers and consume approximately 90 percent less energy. Whenever possible, have your employees use laptops.
2. Review your phone usage and research ways to reduce this necessary expense. Whether you reduce the number of phone lines, change your plan or replace your current service with an internet based service such as VoIP, there are a variety of ways to lower your phone bill without it affecting your clientele.
3. Save the monthly fees and statement fees that your merchant account charges by switching to an online service like PayPal. These online plans do have specific “per transaction” fees, so analyze your account activity before making the switch.
4. Printer ink can often be an extremely high line item in your budget. Review different ways to save, whether it is buying in bulk or using recycled printer cartridges.
5. As stated previously, printer ink is expensive so share printers. Have your employees share their computer printers, reducing your utility expenses while also using less ink.
6. Remember what your parents always told you and turn out the lights. By turning out the lights in unused areas of the office or having motion sensor lights installed, you can see dramatic decreases in your utility bill.
7. Use the internet whenever possible. From sales calls to business conferences, there are a variety of internet-based technologies, such as Microsoft Office Live Meeting, that can provide you with low cost ways to negotiate with clients. Additionally, there are free web conferencing tools such as Zoho Meeting, which can lead to tremendous productivity.
8. Review your weekly spending. Are you purchasing office supplies once a week? Try buying in bulk once a month.
9. Do you have unused office space? If so, investigate the possibility of subletting the space. Sharing the rent and not paying for unused space are two very good reasons to discuss it with your landlord.
10. When looking for seasonal or general office staff, look into hiring students or working with a college for internship opportunities. College interns receive college credit while they work in your office, reducing your payroll and increasing your productivity.
11. When looking for office items, review the trade shows, look into buying wholesale or even investigate Craigslist before paying retail.
12. Although many may think it is old fashioned, the barter system is still alive and well and can save a significant amount of money.
13. Are you wasting valuable time and money re-inventing the wheel? Find pre-made business forms online for free instead of having your staff format new forms.
14. Mailings are expenses so don’t waste them. Clean up your mailing list by removing changed addresses, inactive customers, and undeliverable mail. Every letter that doesn’t get sent back or thrown away is money you have saved.
15. Send your mail out in the morning so it arrives earlier rather than sending it out express or priority mail.
16. The best and least expensive form of advertisement is word-of-mouth. Encourage your clients to make referrals and include testimonials on your website.
17. Use the internet to expand your advertising reach without expanding your budget. Through email newsletters, you can keep your customer base aware of new items or discounted services. The return on investment (ROI) can be much higher than other forms of advertising.
18. Become involved in your community. By joining trade associates as well as interacting with your neighbors, you can sometimes do joint advertising ventures, learn the latest industry-specific news or discover new sales opportunities.
19. Cross promotion is a key element to any business. While advertising one item, mention another service or accessory that works with that item.
20. Before contracting with anyone, request three bids. Often times, a vendor will match a competitors price to complete the sale providing you with additional savings.
21. When ordering new checks, order them online rather than through the bank.
22. Review your insurance coverage. Whether it’s your medical insurance or liability insurance, discuss the policy with your agent to see if there are any ways you can save. Perhaps there are discounts for trade associations or an umbrella plan may be more cost effective.
23. When traveling, look for discounted fares. Investigate if there are specials on the major air carriers through popular travel internet sites.
24. Traveling employees can often share. From hotel rooms to rental cars, working together can mean reducing your expenses.
25. Find advice from others. Have an IT consultant review your working habits. Their recommendations may save you time and money.

From lowering your utilities bills to recycling, these ideas can reduce your expenditures without making your business look unprofessional. When thinking about making changes, always remember to look for ways to improve your business and optimize your staff’s productivity. Once you have accomplished that, you will often find that your expenses decrease as well.

By: Dawn Kraus

As a small business owner, you know that tax complexities have become a huge obstacle for small businesses to overcome. The Office of Advocacy of the United States Small Business Administration reported that businesses with less than 20 employees spend approximately $1,300 per employee in order to comply with tax regulations from the federal government, 45% more than bigger business. This is due in large part to the complicated and often changing regulations. With miles of paperwork and meticulous record keeping, there is little time to investigate tax rebates, deductions or credits. While drowning in a tide of paperwork and restrictions, is there hope for any small business to stay afloat? Yes! Fortunately there are a variety of resources available for small business to find information to help ride the tide of paperwork and sail on to success!

Gaining the level of knowledge needed to understand and manipulate the legalese of the tax code is difficult and time consuming. Most small businesses don’t have the time to invest or the money to hire an expert. There are resources you can make use of in order to get a little insight into these matters. The Internal Revenue Website www.irs.gov has a section dedicated to small business. With helpful instructions on what is deductible, self-employment tax, employment taxes, information on partners and stakeholders and even small business videos, this is a valuable resource for all businesses that should be periodically checked throughout the year. In addition, the IRS website also has links to state websites, providing access to information for whatever state you are located in.

Although finding help to sort through tax complexities is beneficial, what about the tax regulations that make it difficult to survive as a small business? The Office of Advocacy of the United States Small Business Administration speaks out against unjust taxation for small business. As the ‘small business watchdog’, the Office of Advocacy represents the views of small business to federal agencies as well as to Congress and the President. The Office is currently working on a Top 10 list of tax rulings that should be reviewed and reformed. Among these Top 10 Rules for Review and Reform are:

• Ask the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council to remove the “foreign exemption” from the federal procurement policy. This should act as an incentive for federal agencies to award contracts to US-based small businesses rather than overseas companies.
• Have the Office of Federal Procurement Policy review the reverse auction techniques for online procurement to see the impact it has on small firms.

For more information about the Office of Advocacy’s Top 10 Rules for Review and Reform, visit their website at www.sba.gov.

Another great resource for small businesses is SCORE, counselors to America’s small businesses. They are a not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to the education of entrepreneurs. At their website, www.score.org, SCORE provides helpful sections such as ‘How To’, ‘Business Tools’, and ‘Disaster Prep and Relief’. With 24 hour mentoring advice, in person mentoring, low costs workshops nationwide, and online workshops, SCORE is an essential resource for any small business.

With a little research and perseverance, small businesses can not only survive the flood of tax complexities, but thrive, growing stronger and bigger. With the help of the Office of Advocacy, small business owners have a voice in government and hope for future change.

By Dawn Kraus

Small businesses have an especially hard time when it comes to taxes. Here are seven tips that will help keep you focused and could help save you money.

1. Deductions – Make the Most of Them

While reviewing your expenditures, remember that ‘ordinary and necessary’ business expenses aren’t just equipment and rent. Business losses can be deducted from the business owner’s personal income taxes. In addition, if you are on a business and pleasure trip, the transportation costs are deductible if you spend more than 50% of your time doing business. Check with your accountant to find out if you are making the most of your deductions.

2. Check out Tax Credits

There are a variety of valuable tax credits available that can reduce your tax liability. These tax credits include Employer Social Security Credit, Disabled Access Credit, Work Opportunity Credit, Research Credit, Investment Credit, and more. Ask your accountant what credits are available for your business.

3. Quarterly Estimated Tax

If your business has a tax bill of more than $500, you should be paying quarterly estimated taxes or you may be hit with IRS penalties which can severely impact your business’s cash flow.

4. Don’t Forget to Give

Charitable contributions can be claimed as deductions!

5. Meet Your Deadlines
   • Annual returns are due on April 15 for unincorporated companies and S corporations.
   • C corporations must file within 2 ½ months from the end of their fiscal year.
   • Estimated Taxes are due 4 times a year: Jan. 15th, April 15th, June 15th & Sept. 15th.
   • Sales Tax is due quarterly or monthly, depending on what state your business is located in.
   • Employee taxes are due either weekly, monthly or quarterly, depending on the size of your payroll.
6. Update Your Accounting

Spend time each year reviewing your accounting practices to ensure that your books are up-to-date and accurate. Speak with your accountant about your procedures and ask if your current computer accounting system is the right system for your business.

7. Always Keep Your Tax Documentation for Seven Years

Although no one is looking for an audit, it is better to have your documentation ready if it happens