One of the toughest jobs in this world is being the person who has to tell someone they no longer have a job. I am that person and I must admit there are occasions when it’s cathartic, but only because that person has been a cancer in the organization and letting them go will hopefully make that go away. This is especially true in a small organization of less than 25 people where one person is really a big part of the company. But when the layoff doesn’t pertain to a “cancerous employee” you find yourself in the position of letting a good person go and that’s an entirely different situation.

In an office that is small, friendships are created and nurtured over time thus making the departure even harder on the person who must leave and the staff who will remain. The person being let go, especially those who have next to no idea it’s coming, is summoned to maintain composure–and that my friends, is the responsibility of the person doing the letting go. Handling the layoff with compassion and understanding is a must.

There is another downside to layoffs: the effect it has on the rest of the employees. It is natural for everyone to worry if they will be next. Business owners must be candid with their staff and explain the circumstances surrounding any departure. Only then will the staff begin to heal itself and continue to work effectively.

With the economy speeding toward a self-fulfilling prophecy of a “recession is coming” there will be more layoffs before there are new hires. While the link to the article that follows talks about layoffs in larger companies I find a good deal of it also relates to smaller companies. Take a look and see if you share the same approach.

http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/07/the_art_of_the_.html

Okay, maybe that’s not a surprise to you but it’s a surprise to me. Thirty-five years in this business and this is news to me–surprising, I’m sure! Well, truth be told, I have always felt that the best new business plan is being well-connected and part of the community.

Don’t get me wrong, that does work, but only for so long. I’ve noticed that the older I get (No comments please; I’m now eligible for Social Security.) most of my contacts have retired or gone on to their reward. I’ve always been part of the community but as with anything else there are only so many boards you can join.

This past year our office decided on a new plan, one that focused on creating a good, solid list with appropriate contact names, followed by a serious commitment to contacting that list on a regular basis. Without giving away all the details, I will tell you that we have a list to date of about 50 companies in a variety of fields. We have garnered some new business because of our new approach and our commitment to stick with it.

I strongly suggest that you make new business a regular function of your shop. That is what we had to do; we started with regular meetings including different department heads, and while it was tedious, we began treating new business acquisition like a client–and it’s paying dividends.

Here are a couple of good articles I thought I’d share relative to chasing new business.

http://www.agencyfinder.com/advertising-agencies-important-facts-newbusiness-p1.shtml

http://ezinearticles.com/?New-Business-Resolutions-For-Advertising-Agencies&id=924903

Okay this sounds crazy and it can be very scary. Common sense asks why one would ever do such a thing as fire customers? Well, simply put, it may make your business more profitable! I can hear you now, “Huh? What’s Al’s problem today?”

Just listen for just a minute. I’m not the only blogger in the universe who writes about this stuff, in fact it’s a pretty common theme.

We, as business owners in this crazy industry, don’t often want to look at the facts of doing business. The point is, some clients don’t deserve us and we don’t deserve some of them. The wise course is to sit down and really look at your client list, the AGI they generate, the thoughts of your Account Executives who handle the client from day to day and consider what I call the “Sleepless at Night Factor.”

Having a client that generates a lot of AGI but an equal amount of AE fatigue and the Sleepless at Night Factor should urge you to consider your options. Why do good AE’s leave? Well my experience over the last 30 plus years has shown me that while money is often a motivator, what generally pushes folks to make a change is they don’t like their clients. Now I admit, sometimes my answer to that is ’suck it up and get to work,’ but the reality is sometimes the AE is right.

Just take a look at your list and talk to your AE’s candidly. You might be surprised.

Oh, and Happy New Year. Here’s to hoping for lots of new business for all of us in 2008.