Microfit FAQ

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

- John F. Kennedy

  • General Consulting FAQ

  • q.[+]Why should my company use a consultant?

    • We understand that it can feel like an unnecessary expense, hiring a third party to come in and answer questions about your company, the company you know so well. Our role is to ask questions, show you where you think your greatest needs are and help you acquire the talent you need at both the best possible price and in an order that layers results, not just patch up holes.

  • q.[+]What should we look for when choosing a consultant?

    • A person / firm that has experience that crosses one field or discipline. If their experience hinges on one segment of business, I assure you that is what they are going to advise you to fix. We would also advice to avoid "coaches" that are linked to associations and clubs. Not being mean, just a piece of advice.

  • q.[+]Why do you use your network to fulfill work?

    • Making changes to your company is hard. It's been our experience that at times, the client can push back on the "vendors" opinions being provided, often out of personal preference. By us sitting in a neutral position, we can hold the vendor accountable and remind the client why we started the journey in the first place. Yes, there is in essence a "middle" man, but it is to the clients benefit that we operate this way.

  • q.[+]Why do you bill in blocks vs. hours?

    • From a consulting standpoint, nothing can be done in an hour. Allocating half day sessions (one block) allow the consultant and the client to set realistic timeframes aimed at helping meet the needs of the company. For our group, this is a best practice.

  • q.[+]Mapping, why is this necessary in almost all consulting services?

    • There are two approaches in consulting with a company.

      1. Go in with standard set of information or packages.
      2. Evaluate the companies needs, focusing on the companies highest priorities and working your way back to the fine tuning.

      Mapping allows you to show the DNA strand of your approach and make sure that everyone is on the same page, taking the same approach with the same end in mind.

  • q.[+]When developing a solution, do you work with our company or do you bring us a solution on your own?

    • Our philosophy is grounded in working hand in hand with your company. You know your company and its direction best, our job is to act as an enabler or compass. We don’t do the pre-packaged thing.

  • q.[+]How can you offer so many services and still do it with expertise?

    • We have a line of consultants who are experienced in:

      • Business Development
      • Internet / Digital Marketing
      • Internal Operations
      • Art Director

      Each person fulfills roles they are well versed in and we don’t mix and match the consultants based on who is available.

  • q.[+]Is one facet of your consulting more important than another?

    • Because of the size of our clients, no. Each piece intertwines with the next. The key here is making sure each piece is strong, but addressed in the proper order based on your companies needs.


  • Digital Marketing FAQ

  • q.[+]Why the focus on the web with your marketing strategy?

    • ROI. Small Businesses need to know that their advertising budgets (if they have one) is going to bring in a return on their investment. Internet marketing is trackable, scalable and reasonable. This just isn't the case for radio and TV advertising for small businesses.

  • q.[+]Seriously, isn’t Branding for Coke, Google and Apple?

    • In the global marketing sense, sure. Now, lessons can be learned and applied from these mega companies, but do you need to spend millions of dollars to fight for brand recognition and or awareness, of course not. All that said, Branding is important for “micro” companies in completely different aspects. For you its all about creating a comprehensive identity package that give your prospects the sense they are dealing with a reliable, trustworthy and professional company.

  • q.[+]Is social media a "cost of doing business" at this point?

    • The world is rapidly moving away from being "interrupted" and has embraced the internet as their genie in a bottle for any question they may have. They've built networks focused around their interestes and freely share their dislikes, likes, needs and wants. They are looking to be talked with, not at.

      Sound like a good place to get involved?

  • q.[+]Does social media remove the need for all other forms of marketing?

    • From a digital perspective, no. Your first focus has to be a solid web presence that converts seekers into buyers, or at least leads to prospects for your sales team. If you DO have an annual marketing budget, then finding a clever and unique way to tie traditional and new media marketing togother is the absolute best bang for your buck.

      Truth is, most small businesses have little marketing budgets and this tends to be the draw to social media as a "free" answer. That said, anytime you do something right, there is going to be a cost tied to it.


  • Business Development FAQ

  • q.[+]How can you help our sales team?

    • While the buying process can be a mixture of psychology and emotion, the sales process is a bit more mechanical. Having a systematic approach allows a person to “go back to the tape” and see where they are making mistakes. In the last decade the buyer has changed, now so must the sales person. Updated methods, philosophies and goal setting are the key to keeping up with that next generation of buyers.

  • q.[+]Is your 8 Step Sales Method unique to your company?

    • Yes. The sales methodolgoy we teach has been put together based on twelve years of sales experiences; both as sales professionals and in roles of sales leadership.

  • q.[+]What industries do you have experience with in regards to sales?

    • We've worked companies in the following industries:

      • Residential Architecture
      • Software
      • Automotive
      • Retail
      • Photograpy
      • Videography
      • Consulting Practices
      • IT
      • Home Improvement
      • Solid Surfaces
      • Web Development
  • q.[+]Do you work with B2B or B2C sales teams?

    • We work with both B2B and B2C sales teams as well as channel sales. We do have variations for each of these focuses as each one has its on nuances and differences.

  • q.[+]How do sales and social media / networking tie together?

    • Social media / networking is a tool, not a magic wand. That said, we've helped teams replace cold calling, suplement networking and build expertiese through social media and networking. The thing is this though, if it's not done right... it will do a lot more damage than good.


  • Internal Operations FAQ

  • q.[+]All hype aside, isn’t “Company Culture” more fluff than practical substance?

    • No! If a company can not establish a culture that attracts and retains talent, then you better get really good at hiring. The generations that come after the baby boomer are community based and NEED to feel dedicated to their work. If that isn’t an option at your company one of two things will happen:

      1. They will stay, half hearted till something better comes along.
      2. They won’t stay at all.
  • q.[+]How often do you recommend (to your clients) employee evaluations be done?

    • Based on the size of the company, we would say the period without a review should be no longer than six months. If there is a lot of collaboration in the work environment, six months works. If it is more segregated and employees work on their own with less opportunity for feedback; both peer and management, we would say every three months.

  • q.[+]Why do you handle leadership and management development in groups?

    • When dealing with multiple managers on the same level, typically middle management, is best to be done in a group. The questions, ideas and struggles are best to be hashed out and talked about in a “community” format.

  • q.[+]Why do you handle upper management and executive level members in a one to one coaching method?

    • The Executive level leaders are typically coached in a one on one format. This is because of the depth of their roles. Its usually best to dive deep into their goals, methods and approaches.

  • q.[+]What is a BPM?

    • BPM stands for Business Productivity Manager. Our BPM integrates sales, marketing, calendaring, project managment, contacts, tasks; linking all of this together in one customizable, compay wide system. This system is the best of both worlds, combining project management and CRM capabilities.

  • q.[+]Do you implement systems for both PC and Mac?

    • We started out working on both platforms, but because we want to provide the best possible product, we have moved to only implementing software solutions for the Mac Platform. We can still perform many of our services, just not the software installations.

  • q.[+]Does our company have to fit your systems or can the systems be tailored to our company?

    • We are not a “one size fits all” company. We offer solutions that are customizable. If we, for some reasons, do not have a solution that works hand to glove, we don’t offer the next best thing.

  • q.[+]What is the value of a “networked” office?

    • This is an extremely technical subject, so we will keep it as simple as possible.

      • VPN - Virtual Private Network. The idea here is to be able to access critical information from any where you have an internet connection. Grab the file you need from your home, onsite meeting or vacation.
      • Networked Information - Searchable information stored in one central location for the whole company. Share computers, storage devices and or screens to get the work done.
      • Redundant Backups - In case of an emergency, have all of your critical work backed up, ensuring that you can be up and running quickly after a number of issues.