People always ask me, “Steve, do you fly out and pitch to potential licensees in person?” And the honest answer is, sometimes yes and sometimes no. It’s very important to establish a relationship with a future licensee, especially at the beginning. This means talking on the phone and then maybe moving to e-mail. If you are able to (and can afford) to spend time with the people you’re going to be working with, that’s priceless. It’s not the most fiscally responsible choice, but looking someone in the eye? Understanding who they really are and putting faces to names? That’s of great value. And it’s also an investment. Because when you sign a contract, you don’t just walk away – you’re going to be working with these people for a long time. Their success is your success.
But timing is everything. Will I visit a company at the beginning of our relationship? No. My idea needs to stand on its own. It needs to have all the benefits they need. I like to work out all the issues before I arrange a visit. Can my product be manufactured? Do they really want it? Have they agreed to my term sheets? If all these kinks are worked out, I’ll go out and meet with them in person. I want to see their facilities and what they’re really all about. I need to determine if that company is really the best and right fit for me. If the situation is ideal and feels right, I sign a contract. It’s kind of like kicking the tires – you want to confirm exactly what you’re getting into. Once you’ve signed a contract, you’re partners. You may sometimes find yourself in a situation where you wish that wasn’t the case… Get to know who they are before that moment.
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Stephen Key is a successful award-winning inventor who has licensed over 20 products in the past 25 years. Along with business partner Andrew Krauss, Stephen runs inventRight, a company dedicated to educating inventors about selling their ideas and the skills needed to succeed. You can ask questions and get advice on the inventRight forum, check out the resource center, and listen to the weekly radio show on inventing. Get In The News, list your invention to have media outlets find you for news stories.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Can domestic partner coverage continue under COBRA?
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If you offer employees the option of healthcare coverage for domestic partners you are not alone. More than 35% percent of US private employers including 52% percent of Fortune 500 companies allow their workers to choose healthcare benefits that cover domestic partners.
While plans have increasingly included domestic partner eligibility there is no federal requirement to offer continuation of benefits when coverage ends. COBRA legislation mandates that employers offer plan options to covered employees, their spouses and covered dependent children when a qualifying event occurs. Qualifying events include termination of employment, loss coverage due to a change in status, death of the employee and divorce.
Employers may choose to offer the option of continuing domestic partner benefits. Check with the benefits provider before you do, they don’t have to extend coverage that is not required by COBRA. As with any other benefit decision it’s important to be consistent. Don’t decide to extend the option to one laid off manager and not another.
Domestic partners are not eligible for the 65% federal subsidy included as part of this year’s economic stimulus package. The ARRA subsidy is only available to federally eligible COBRA participants, former employees their spouse and dependent children. So if you offer continuation of domestic partner benefits you will have to figure out an entirely different premium rate, or multiple rates based upon the choices made by the terminated or laid off employee.
Add this complication to the list of reasons to outsource COBRA administration!
If you offer employees the option of healthcare coverage for domestic partners you are not alone. More than 35% percent of US private employers including 52% percent of Fortune 500 companies allow their workers to choose healthcare benefits that cover domestic partners.
While plans have increasingly included domestic partner eligibility there is no federal requirement to offer continuation of benefits when coverage ends. COBRA legislation mandates that employers offer plan options to covered employees, their spouses and covered dependent children when a qualifying event occurs. Qualifying events include termination of employment, loss coverage due to a change in status, death of the employee and divorce.
Employers may choose to offer the option of continuing domestic partner benefits. Check with the benefits provider before you do, they don’t have to extend coverage that is not required by COBRA. As with any other benefit decision it’s important to be consistent. Don’t decide to extend the option to one laid off manager and not another.
Domestic partners are not eligible for the 65% federal subsidy included as part of this year’s economic stimulus package. The ARRA subsidy is only available to federally eligible COBRA participants, former employees their spouse and dependent children. So if you offer continuation of domestic partner benefits you will have to figure out an entirely different premium rate, or multiple rates based upon the choices made by the terminated or laid off employee.
Add this complication to the list of reasons to outsource COBRA administration!
Customer Reviews Can Boost Business
WRITTEN TESTIMONIALS INFLUENCE our actions and choices in myriad ways, sometimes without our even thinking about them. For example: You and a friend decide to catch a movie, but your tastes don't always coincide. So you open the local paper and check out the film reviews. You decide you want to go to dinner first, but there are so many restaurants in your area that you don't know which one to pick. So you open up a local magazine and scan the recommendations of the magazine's food critic.
Even more powerful than these "professional" testimonials, however, are those that come from trusted personal contacts. If you have enough time, you might call or e-mail a couple of other friends to get their movie and restaurant suggestions. You're likely to follow their advice, too, because you know that they know your likes and dislikes pretty well.
So it is in business. Before people come to your firm for a particular product or service, they often want the comfort of knowing what others have said about you.
Let's say you refinish hardwood floors. Many consumers, before they let you haul your refinishing equipment into their house, will ask you for either written testimonials or phone numbers of people who can attest to your work.
You may even have experience with another form of testimonial: providing references when applying for a new job. Those references are expected to respond by written or spoken word about you and your work performance; quite frequently, a testimonial can clinch the job for you. That's a lot of weight riding on someone else's words.
Why Testimonials Increase Business
Testimonials carry a level of credibility because they come from someone who has direct experience with your product or service. Consumers generally place more trust in testimonials than they do in a business's marketing message. They believe that the average person is unbiased and has nothing to gain from providing a testimonial. The business stands to gain--or lose--everything, so its own words are seen as less trustworthy.
Recognizing consumers' skepticism, some businesses make a practice of asking for customer testimonials. Ditto for businesses that serve other businesses. If anything, a business can be an even more demanding customer than an individual consumer because it has its own reputation and ability to function at stake. Thus, a written testimonial on professional letterhead from one business to another is a powerful word in your favor, especially if the business represented on that letterhead is highly credible.
Displaying Testimonials
Written testimonials can be used in many ways to enhance your credibility and set you above your competition--on your business's website, for example. Some websites have them strategically sprinkled throughout so there's at least one testimonial on each page. Others have a dedicated page where a browser can view several testimonials at once. Either way, scan each testimonial to keep it with its letterhead. This will enhance its credibility--and yours.
If your business attracts a lot of walk-in clients, it's helpful to display your written testimonials, each encased in a plastic sheet protector, in a three-ring binder labeled "What our customers say about us" or "Client Testimonials." Keep this binder on a table in your reception area, where your customers can browse through it while they're waiting for services. It's a good way to connect with your prospects and enhance your relationship with clients.
Another way to stand out from the competition is to include testimonials with your business proposals. This strategy works best if you have a wide variety to choose from; you can include a section of testimonials that are most relevant to a specific proposal.
Asking for Testimonials
Make it standard practice to ask clients (or other contacts) for testimonials. At what point in the sales cycle should you ask? This is a tricky question, but in general, don't ask for any testimonial before it's time--which may be before, during, or after the completion of a sale or project, depending on your client, your product or service, and your own needs.
Let's say that one month before finishing a project, you call your client to ask how things are going. The client tells you she's very happy with the results and that her life or business has changed for the better because of your product or service. At this point, your testimonial detector should be pinging loudly. It's the right time to make your pitch: "That would be a great thing for other people to know about my company. Would you be willing to write me a testimonial on your company letterhead by the end of the week?" If the answer is yes, the next step is to coach your client in writing a testimonial that fits your needs.
Guiding the Content
Ask your client to tell why she chose to work with you, how she benefited from your products or services, how you solved a problem for her, and what other people should know about your business. What things are most people concerned about when using a business like yours? Ask her to address those issues. Don't be afraid to offer suggestions; you'll make it easier for her to write an appropriate testimonial, and the result will be more valuable for you.
Updating Your Testimonials
Finally, review your testimonial file or binder at least every two to three years to identify testimonials that are no longer valid or credible. Specifically, you may want to discard or re-file a testimonial that:
Is from a company that's no longer in business
Is/was written by someone who has left the company
Represents a product or service that you no longer offer
Has begun to turn yellow with age
Needs to be updated with new statistics from the customer
Now that you understand what testimonials can do for your business, try asking for three written testimonials on company letterhead this week. Make it easy for your advocates--specify what you would like their testimonials to cover, based on what you know of their satisfaction or successes from using your product or service. Ask for them to be typed on company letterhead, signed and submitted by a certain date.
One more thing: Remember the law of reciprocity. If you want to truly motivate someone to write you a testimonial, write one for him or her first.
Even more powerful than these "professional" testimonials, however, are those that come from trusted personal contacts. If you have enough time, you might call or e-mail a couple of other friends to get their movie and restaurant suggestions. You're likely to follow their advice, too, because you know that they know your likes and dislikes pretty well.
So it is in business. Before people come to your firm for a particular product or service, they often want the comfort of knowing what others have said about you.
Let's say you refinish hardwood floors. Many consumers, before they let you haul your refinishing equipment into their house, will ask you for either written testimonials or phone numbers of people who can attest to your work.
You may even have experience with another form of testimonial: providing references when applying for a new job. Those references are expected to respond by written or spoken word about you and your work performance; quite frequently, a testimonial can clinch the job for you. That's a lot of weight riding on someone else's words.
Why Testimonials Increase Business
Testimonials carry a level of credibility because they come from someone who has direct experience with your product or service. Consumers generally place more trust in testimonials than they do in a business's marketing message. They believe that the average person is unbiased and has nothing to gain from providing a testimonial. The business stands to gain--or lose--everything, so its own words are seen as less trustworthy.
Recognizing consumers' skepticism, some businesses make a practice of asking for customer testimonials. Ditto for businesses that serve other businesses. If anything, a business can be an even more demanding customer than an individual consumer because it has its own reputation and ability to function at stake. Thus, a written testimonial on professional letterhead from one business to another is a powerful word in your favor, especially if the business represented on that letterhead is highly credible.
Displaying Testimonials
Written testimonials can be used in many ways to enhance your credibility and set you above your competition--on your business's website, for example. Some websites have them strategically sprinkled throughout so there's at least one testimonial on each page. Others have a dedicated page where a browser can view several testimonials at once. Either way, scan each testimonial to keep it with its letterhead. This will enhance its credibility--and yours.
If your business attracts a lot of walk-in clients, it's helpful to display your written testimonials, each encased in a plastic sheet protector, in a three-ring binder labeled "What our customers say about us" or "Client Testimonials." Keep this binder on a table in your reception area, where your customers can browse through it while they're waiting for services. It's a good way to connect with your prospects and enhance your relationship with clients.
Another way to stand out from the competition is to include testimonials with your business proposals. This strategy works best if you have a wide variety to choose from; you can include a section of testimonials that are most relevant to a specific proposal.
Asking for Testimonials
Make it standard practice to ask clients (or other contacts) for testimonials. At what point in the sales cycle should you ask? This is a tricky question, but in general, don't ask for any testimonial before it's time--which may be before, during, or after the completion of a sale or project, depending on your client, your product or service, and your own needs.
Let's say that one month before finishing a project, you call your client to ask how things are going. The client tells you she's very happy with the results and that her life or business has changed for the better because of your product or service. At this point, your testimonial detector should be pinging loudly. It's the right time to make your pitch: "That would be a great thing for other people to know about my company. Would you be willing to write me a testimonial on your company letterhead by the end of the week?" If the answer is yes, the next step is to coach your client in writing a testimonial that fits your needs.
Guiding the Content
Ask your client to tell why she chose to work with you, how she benefited from your products or services, how you solved a problem for her, and what other people should know about your business. What things are most people concerned about when using a business like yours? Ask her to address those issues. Don't be afraid to offer suggestions; you'll make it easier for her to write an appropriate testimonial, and the result will be more valuable for you.
Updating Your Testimonials
Finally, review your testimonial file or binder at least every two to three years to identify testimonials that are no longer valid or credible. Specifically, you may want to discard or re-file a testimonial that:
Is from a company that's no longer in business
Is/was written by someone who has left the company
Represents a product or service that you no longer offer
Has begun to turn yellow with age
Needs to be updated with new statistics from the customer
Now that you understand what testimonials can do for your business, try asking for three written testimonials on company letterhead this week. Make it easy for your advocates--specify what you would like their testimonials to cover, based on what you know of their satisfaction or successes from using your product or service. Ask for them to be typed on company letterhead, signed and submitted by a certain date.
One more thing: Remember the law of reciprocity. If you want to truly motivate someone to write you a testimonial, write one for him or her first.
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