The 7 traits of super staff; Canada's Entrepreneurs of the Decade

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Jan. 14-27, 2010 Vol. 7, No. 1

Human Resources: The 7 traits of super staff Success: Canada's Entrepreneurs of the Decade Executive Development: Olympian approaches to personal performance Sales: Now's the time to "kick it old school" Human Resources: Attracting better talent with employee referrals Great Ideas: Four ways to keep your sales prospects engaged The Business Coach: Fend off fraudsters Peer-to-Peer: "When should I start hiring again?" About PROFIT-Xtra

The 7 traits of super staff How does 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, the world�s largest junk-removal service, remain an employer of choice and a high-performing business? It starts with smart hiring, says Brian Scudamore, the firm�s founder and CEO. After analyzing the more than 1,000 good and bad hires his company has made over the past 20 years, Scudamore has identified seven specific things he says every business owner should look for in a potential employee. FULL STORY

Canada's Entrepreneurs of the Decade These 11 remarkable CEOs have built hugely successful firms by shaking up their industries. Here are the inspiring — and instructive — stories of how they did it. FULL STORY

Olympian approaches to personal performance Elite athletes and entrepreneurs have more in common than you might think. Elevate your game by adopting the performance-enhancing methods of Olympians. FULL STORY

Search engine optimization for CEOs Innovators Alliance will present �SEO for the CEO� (Waterloo region) on January 26, 2010. This half-day learning event will be held at the Cambridge Hotel and Conference Centre and will be PACKED full of information. Presented by Scott Wilson of RankHigher.ca, �SEO for the CEO� will provide you with six essential tools for measuring the effectiveness of your search engine optimization. As well, it includes a take-away DVD for your reference. For more information about the event and about becoming a member of Innovators Alliance, please visit www.innovators.org.

Now�s the time to �kick it old school� Although the recession is officially over, it doesn�t much feel like it. To survive and grow in what remains a challenging economy, you need a high-functioning sales team, writes PROFITguide.com columnist Dominic Rubino. He says the most effective way to do so is to adopt a number of classic sales tactics that work as well today as they ever have�and that probably aren�t being used by your competitors. FULL STORY

Attracting better talent with employee referrals You want to hire the best and the brightest, but they�re already employed. How can you attract these passive job seekers to your business? An employee-referral program could be just the ticket. In this instalment of the PROFIT Growth Planner, learn how to design a program, determine how to reward referrals and launch this initiative with a bang. FULL STORY

Four ways to keep your sales prospects engaged It�s a common lament: given today�s short attention spans, how can I get anyone to sit still long enough to absorb my sales or marketing message? Cheer up, advises Phil Fragasso in Marketing for Rainmakers. The veteran marketer contends that the premise that people have short attention spans is a bunch of hooey: �If they did, three-hour blockbuster movies, seven-hundred-page novels, and the weeklong build-up to the Super Bowl would be things of the past.� What people do have short attentions spans for is irrelevancy. Here Fragasso suggests four ways to focus on keeping the attention of your prospects. FULL STORY

Fend off fraudsters In today�s increasingly complex and hectic business world, entrepreneurial businesses are prime candidates for being duped out of major dollars. How big is the threat and what can you do to stop it? In this episode of the Business Coach podcast, host and PROFIT editor Ian Portsmouth puts those questions to Cathy Penny, director of fraud and electronic monitoring at BMO Bank of Montreal. Don’t miss this episode and many others at http://www.profitguide.com/business-coach-podcast LISTEN NOW

"When should I start hiring again?" The owner of a small retail chain based in Guelph, Ont., writes to ask PROFIT-Xtra readers: "The recession forced me to lay off five of my 30 employees. Since last October, my sales have started to pick up again. But so far I haven�t started hiring again, because I wanted to see whether the recovery was for real. Does anyone have any advice on how to decide when to start staffing up again?" If you have experience or advice to share, send it to Peer-to-Peer. If we publish your answer in next week's issue, you could win a copy of How to Build a Billion Dollar Company From Scratch, by Harry E. Figgie Jr. (Respond anonymously if you wish. Published answers will be edited for length and clarity.) Have a question for your fellow entrepreneurs? Send it to Peer-to-Peer.

Subscribe/Unsubscribe To modify your subscription, please click here. PROFIT-Xtra is brought to you by: PROFIT: Your Guide To Business Success One Mount Pleasant Rd., 11th floor, Toronto, Ont. M4Y 2Y5 Phone: (416) 764-1402 Fax: (416) 764-1404 PROFITmagazine.ca Editor: Ian Portsmouth Managing Editors: Jim McElgunn and Kim Shiffman Publisher: Kenneth Whyte Advertising Director Online, Consumer Sales: Stefania Mancini Questions, comments or story ideas? Please contact PROFIT-Xtra. ISSN # 1712-1701 PROFIT-Xtra Copyright (c) 2009 Rogers Media Inc. - Publishing. Read our privacy policy