the Franchisee Newsletter

Network News
Service you Want, Technology We Know ™
T h e i S o l d It a n d P o sta l C o n n e ct i o n s b i - m o n t h ly F r a n c h i s e e J o u r n a l
Top Performers Receive Awards
at Las Vegas Conference
In This Issue:
1 Franchisee Awards
1 Franchise Facts
EX Reports
2 AM
Small Business
Two highlights of the recent Las Vegas
2011 iSold It (ISI) and Postal Connections
(PCA) Franchisee Conference were:
• The Two Outstanding Franchisees of
the Year
• The Top Five Sales Awards for each
network
Recognition for the franchisees came
during an awards banquet at the Tuscany
Resort and Casino.
The Franchisee of the Year awards are
given nationally to the outstanding ISI and
PCA franchisees who demonstrate the
highest level of customer care, business
development and contribution to system
wide advancement.
Outstanding
Franchisee
of the Year
2010
Outstanding
Franchisee
of the Year
2010
Scott
Brown
#CA0238
Fullerton, CA
Marc
Richard
PCA #228
Vero Beach, FL
Impacts
of
2 Power
Craigslist
Tips From
3 Online
the Experts
Claiming Your
Business Listing on
Yelp and Other Sites
Network is
4 The
Stronger
5 Strategies to
Improve the Business
Franchisees of the Year
ISI Franchisee of the Year, Scott Brown, Fullerton, CA (ISI-238). Scott and Brad,
the store manager, achieved a remarkable performance with a 56% sales gain over
the prior year. They accomplished this by their successful efforts in obtaining small
businesses as new customers.
Franchise Facts
PCA Franchisee of the Year, Marc Richard, Vero Beach, FL (PCA228). In the 15year history of the award, this is the first time a new franchisee is operating a store at
such exceptional business performance levels.
Franchise Association),
Despite the tough economic times around the country, both franchise networks had
remarkable 2010 sales increases over 2009—ISI increased by 11.9% and PCA by 17.2%!
Did you know that according
to the IFA (International
franchise businesses are
responsible for 760,000
businesses, 18 million jobs,
14 percent of private sector
The top ISI sales store achieved $539,000 in revenue. The top PCA store had over
$1 million in gross sales and $532,000 in adjusted gross sales in 2010.
(For more sales information presented at the Conference go to
www.877isoldit.com/conference2011 or www.postalconnections.com/conference2011)
employment and over $500
Congratulations!
produced by franchises.
billion in payroll. More than
$706 billion in gross value
of goods and services are
Continued on page 2
Page 1
Continued From page 1
The 2010 Top Five Sales Awards were presented to franchisees ranking at the
top of ISI and PCA for sales performance.
Top Five Sales Awards
Small Business
Delivers!
A recent survey published as
American Express Global Customer
Service Barometer reported
the following findings regarding
customer service. It is of particular
interest to small business owners
like us:
iSold It
Postal Connections
1. Mike Hadad
Gaithersburg, MD (ISI-118)
1. Jim & Elizabeth Bowe
Lancaster, PA (PCA158)
3. Chuck & Lisa Hudson
Glendale, AZ (ISI-170)
3. Don & Sue Harteloo
Stayton, OR (PCA146)
• 60% of consumers perceive
that businesses have not
increased focus on providing
strong customer service.
5. Tom & Joyce Jones
Redmond, OR (PCA119)
• 26% feel that companies pay
even less attention to service
than they used to.
2. Kevin & Angie Bittner
Topeka, KS (ISI-208)
4.Scott Brown
Fullerton, CA (ISI-238)
5. Eric & Stephanie Czerwonka
Orland Park, IL (ISI234)
2. Pete Pierce
Bend, OR (PCA101)
4. Ship Six, Inc. (Roger Young)
York, PA (PCA209)
The Power of Craigslist
Franchisor’s note: Craigslist is well known and understood at iSold It. But the power
of Craigslist includes all retailers looking for customers. It is a marketplace, a virtual
open and free “digital mercado” for local businesses and consumers who want to buy
and sell things. Consumers who need packaging & shipping, a business address,
printing, and much more. Craigslist “ listings” often include contact information that
can be added to a store’s marketing list. Below is an article provided by Auction
Sound’s parent company That’sUs.com, CEO Matt Brown.
Thanks to the Internet, people have more available options for selling second-hand
items such as electronics, antiques, domain names, collectibles, vehicles and pretty
much anything you can imagine. There have been many different auction sites,
though eBay has been the leader in selling items online for many years now.
eBay drop off stores have emerged and changed the way people sell used items.
This is a convenient way for someone who is very busy to sell items without the
hassle of dealing with eBay and users of eBay. As the web has evolved and other
options are becoming available, many users have started to harness the power of
Craigslist to sell and buy goods and services. Craigslist serves many markets from
individual sellers to massive businesses.
Now drop off stores can cross promote products and services between Craigslist,
eBay and other auction/buying sites. Selling on Craigslist to local users gives
the seller an opportunity to really connect with a possible long-term customer for
buying and / or selling. Unlike eBay, posting to Craigslist is completely free. Listing
items on Craigslist will give more control to a business than eBay does. Equally
important,Craigslist is the place to find competitors, target customers in select
business categories, and pricing for key products such as printing, cartridges, and
packaging. Leveraging Craigslist only makes sense!
By: Matthew A. Brown, President and CEO of ThatsUs.com
• 78% of consumers stated they
ended a transaction or have
withdrawn intended purchases
because of a poor service
experience.
However, consider this statistic
relating to small business:
81% of consumers think that
small businesses deliver better
service than big businesses!
That is a huge competitive
advantage for us, plus there’s
more…
Consumers Will Pay
for Good Service
The survey indicates that
purchasers appreciate the value of
good service:
• 60% of Americans would try a
new product or service if they
felt they would receive a good
customer experience.
• 70% are willing to spend an
average of 13% more with
companies they feel deliver
good customer service.
Continued on page 3
Page 2
Online “Tip” from Experts
Reach Pros is being retained as a new resource to help improve your online
business presence and advertising. Reach Pros, presented many excellent
online advertising tactics at our recent conference. From time-to-time they
will contribute more valuable “tips” in Network News. There has been no
change in Big Rig Media status as our resource. We simply now have more
assistance with marketing.
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR IMAGE: CLAIM YOUR BUSINESS LISTING
The Internet is proving to be a game changer for small businesses. It is the most
powerful source of advertising today because most people use it to find businesses.
It’s vital to present your store on the Internet and look as good as you really are. It’s
easy to do. Just claim your listing.
WHY CLAIM? Claiming your Postal Connections or iSold It business listing on key
high-traffic consumer web sites is valuable because your prospects and customers
are increasingly going online:
1. To gather general information about businesses
2. To read online reviews that mold their initial opinions about a business,
which influences their purchasing decisions
And it is FREE!
TAKE CONTROL: Your business is already listed on many search engines,
directories, and review sites. By claiming your business listings you can take control of
how your business appears to consumers, get alerts when consumers write reviews,
and respond to them as well. We hope you invest the ten to 20 minutes to claim a key
high traffic website (use the link below to see step-by-step instructions on claiming
Yelp). You can ensure your business will be represented online the way you want it to
be portrayed. Don’t leave your online reputation to chance... take control of it.
BENEFITS OF CLAIMING: You can quickly improve your business’s online presence
by enhancing your business listing pages with additional descriptive copy and photos.
You can also make sure that the key contact and address information is correct.
Additionally, claiming gives you the ability to decide which categories you want your
business to appear under when a consumer searches online. This can make the
difference as to whether consumers find your business when they are searching for
the products and/or services you provide, or just find your competitors. Ultimately,
these online enhancements can help attract more customers to your business.
CLAIMING YELP: The first site we recommend claiming is Yelp. Yelp is the most
popular review site as measured by number of reviews and consumer traffic. That
means lots of consumers are looking there and writing about your business. Go to
www.postalconnections.com/conference2011 or www.877-isoldit.com/conference2011
to see the steps to help you claim Yelp. This is well worth your time and effort.
NOTE: As part of the Yelp claiming process, you (or somebody on your team) will need to
be at your store to answer an automated phone call from Yelp verifying that you are actually
the owner of the store you are claiming. Be sure to coordinate this store presence.
HERE ARE SOME SITES WE
RECOMMEND CLAIMING:
• Yelp
• Google Places
• Yahoo!
• CitySearch
• Bing
• Yellowpages.com
• Foursquare
• Gowalla
• Facebook.com (requires
ongoing engagement)
• Twitter.com (requires ongoing
engagement)
Continued from page 2
This is good news but the survey
also says a lot about consumer
reaction to poor service.
Avoid Making
Customers Angry
More than half of the respondents
admit to having lost their temper at a
customer service rep. They express
their anger by asking to speak to a
supervisor, hanging up the phone,
and taking business to a competitor.
Consumers tell an average of
16 people about poor service
experiences and only 9 about good
ones. Plus, it’s easy to get flamed
on Yelp or other internet sites by a
disgruntled customer.
Small Business
Competitive Edge
The most important message
from this survey is that it appears
small businesses hold an inherent
competitive edge over big
businesses when it comes to service.
It’s up to us to drive the growth from
that perception by making sure it
is matched with reality in our daily
customer interaction.
Page 3
Our Networks Are Stronger
Who could say the past two years
were anything but difficult for
business? But many ISI and PCA
stores appeared to discover the silver
lining. Comparing 2010 to 2009 at
the same stores, the iSold It Network
increased sales by 11.9%. At Postal
Connections, the increase was 17.2%!
Among many factors, persistence
and commitment remain the common
denominators for these successes.
To view the sales progress
presentations shown at the Las
Vegas conference, click on the
following links:
www.877-isoldit.com/conference2011
www.postalconnections.com/conference2011
Customers are
Still There
Based on 2010 and the first six
months of 2011 our networks are
stronger. More importantly, ISI and
PCA owner-operators are succeeding
and staying in business even as
competitors are failing. And the
heartening point is that the customers
are still there!
Customers still seek to turn
unused items into cash. ISI stores
remain the best solution for many
people to easily sell items online.
And customers still need to
pack and ship, print documents,
and establish business mailing
addresses. Trade groups report
that postal, shipping and business
services stores have declined by
15% to 20% in the past 18 months,
but customers are still there.
grab your share of the market that is
now sliced into fewer pieces.
Strategies Franchisees
are using to improve
Business
Here are a few strategies being
used by ISI and PCA franchisees to
improve results:
iSold It
Re-negotiating the lease, moving
or combining operations. Beyond
the obvious, franchisees in Florida,
California, New York and elsewhere
are successfully reducing rents by
threatening to relocate at the end of
their five-year term. Landlords need
to know you are not bluffing.
So, start by being prepared to move.
Several ISI stores have migrated to
“mixed-use” locations where space
size is more flexible and the heavy
burden of a retail rent disappears. In
some cases, sales have declined but
profits have increased.
However, the crucial factor in a
successful move appears to be
retaining current customer loyalty.
This is critical. Your customer list is
the key to maintaining revenue while
marketing to new customers. If a
move is likely, immediately intensify
marketing to current customers.
Combining Postal Connections
with iSold It. Currently, in the
Chicago Area, two stores have
combined their ISI and PCA
businesses in the same space. Rent,
utilities and other fixed costs are
being met by the PCA revenue and
both operations are supported by the
same staff. This combined model,
while promising, is still too new to
project financial results.
Both iSold
It & Postal
Connections
Expanding product lines. Both ISI
& PCA store owners have found that
Media Trader is adding a profit boost
to their operations. Media Trader
is unique because it provides an
analytical feature to the software that
Continued on page 5
So, apply persistence and
commitment to your operation and
Page 4
Continued from page 4
provides highly reliable purchasing
and sales pricing for Amazon.com.
Media Trader also introduces new
customers to the store and can act
as powerful social media networkers
who help build our reputation.
prices in line with big box stores.
Several PCA store franchisees have
commented that in poor markets,
ink refilling has made the difference
between decreased sales and sales
that are holding the line.
Postal
Connections
Printing and document finishing.
Several stores are introducing printing
services targeted at businesses,
local government agencies and nonprofit groups. PCA stores are taking
advantage. Printing can be a product
that can induce sales from current as
well as new B2B customers.
Adding ink, laser, and toner
cartridges. 2010 product mix sales
demonstrate that stores introducing
low-cost, high-quality remanufactured
cartridges and inkjet refilling
machines have increased both sales
and profits.
The sales strategy is based on low
wholesale prices and refilling costs
which allow for competitive retail
In each future issue of the Franchisee
Newsletter there will be an article
focused on strategic comments about
growing your franchise business.
Who we are
C.A. “Andy”
Thompson, PhD
Managing Partner,
Owner
andy@postalconnections.com
Fred Morache
Managing Partner,
Owner
fred@postalconnections.com
Jeff Lee
Vice President,
Operations
jeff@isolditcorp.com
Page 5