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Business-services firms hope shared space helps lure clients

Business First of Louisville - September 22, 2006
by Richard Slawsky

Three businesses are sharing office space with the hope of offering one-stop shopping for startup and existing businesses.

Louisville companies Executive Communications Inc., Action Business Coaching and Baach Creative Services Inc. have moved into a 12,000-square-foot space at 10300 Linn Station Road.

Executive Communications helps businesses generate sales leads, primarily through the operation of a call center.

Action Business Coaching advises business owners on how to develop effective marketing techniques by systemizing operations and developing leadership skills.

Baach Creative Services designs marketing materials and company logos.

Business 'was growing like gangbusters'

The decision to share space grew out of a combination of mutual friendships and similar business needs.

"My business was growing like gangbusters, and as part of our growth and expansion we needed to find a larger space," said Liz Welsh, owner of Executive Communications, which provides business development and communications services.

"I was located on Linn Station Road, albeit in a different location," she said. "I finally found this space literally across the street from where I was before, but it was bigger than I needed."

Welsh is a longtime friend of Amy Baach's, who operates Baach Creative Services, a graphic design studio formerly located on Breckinridge Lane.

Rachel Butler and Tom Butler, who operate an Action Business Coaching franchise from their home, had worked with Welsh to formulate Executive Communications' growth strategy.

"Rachel and Tom Butler came over to see the space with me, and it occurred to all of us that there was enough space here that they could set up shop in the same suite," Welsh said.

"Amy had also come over to see the space, saw a corner of the suite that we were using as storage, and said, 'This would be perfect for me.' "

Filling a series of niches

Each of the businesses maintains its own staff, and each has a clearly defined space in the office, Welsh said.

Together, the three business offer different, but complementary, business services, Baach said.

"It offers our clients the ability to have different types of communications services available in one location," Baach said, adding that they work together on projects for some clients. |

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Executive Communications Inc.

Owner: Elizabeth Welsh

Year founded: 1997

Number of employees: 25

Web site: www.executive-com.com

Right Angle

Owners: Rachel Butler, Tom Butler

Year founded: 2003

Number of employees: Two

Web site: www.rightangleresults.com

Baach Creative Services Inc.

Owner: Amy Baach

Year founded: 1975

Number of employees: One

Web site: www.baach.com

 

Automated calls are cheap, effective for campaigns

By Doug Gross, Associated Press Writer  |  August 23, 2006

 ATLANTA --…"It's extremely cost effective -- a lot cheaper than a piece of mail, way cheaper than a live phone call," said Elizabeth J. Welsh, president of Louisville, Ky.-based Executive Communications Inc., which runs political campaigns and hires companies to send automated calls for clients. 
 
"The automatic calls are pretty heavily used by both sides in almost every major campaign because they're so incredibly cheap," said Cagle spokesman Brad Alexander. "The question isn't whether you can afford to do them, but how many you want to do."

And in a political world where time equals votes, politicians like the phone banks because they're fast.

"If my opponent attacks me right now, literally within minutes I can put a phone call out there to respond," Welsh said.

Politicians need to be careful about sending out too many of the recordings, Welsh said, but she predicted they're not going away.

"We don't worry as much about people actually following through and not voting for them," she said. "I think the gain far outweighs the loss."

May 10, 2006
Section: Neighborhoods
Edition: EC
Page: 1B

2 J'town businesses to grow

Tax-incentive deal will create 30 jobs
Matt Batcheldor mbatcheldor@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

The Jeffersontown City Council has struck a deal with two businesses that were considering an expansion in (the) Bluegrass Industrial Park (area). The businesses will create 15 jobs each, and the city will charge less than half its usual payroll tax on those employees for 10 years.

Economic-development leaders say the deal with Interspace Computers Inc. and Executive Communications Inc. is a good one.

The city is getting 30 well-paying jobs and $7,252 in payroll taxes over the next 10 years, even at the reduced rate. That's money it might not have gotten without offering the incentives.

"Those two companies are both the kinds of high-tech, white-collar jobs you love to have in a city," said John Cosby, executive director of the Jeffersontown Economic Development Authority. "Manufacturing has declined. Those white-collar service jobs are the jobs of the future."

Jeffersontown's incentives are part of a package of tax breaks, including a 10-year cancellation of state corporate income-tax payments, that companies can get through the state Jobs Development Act.

…Executive Communications President Liz Welsh said Jeffersontown's incentives were "extraordinarily important" in her decision to stay in the city and not move to (another area) that doesn't have Jeffersontown's 1 percent occupational tax.

She said the … location, which is easy for her employees to get to, was another big reason to stay. The business will move to a bigger building in the (area) within the next two weeks.

Her 9-year-old company is adding 15 jobs, giving the company a work force of 26, with jobs paying from about $21,000 to about $100,000, she said.

The company offers telephone services to various industries for political lobbying, phone polls and exit interviews.

September 30, 2005
Section: BUSINESS
Edition: METRO
Page: 01D

Expanding Businesses: UPS and Executive Communications

WOLFE BILL
STAFF

Expanding businesses - Proposals that won approval for tax incentives yesterday from Kentucky:

Executive Communications

Jobs: 15

Payroll: $269,380

Business: Assists organizations with communications resources.

(Companies) to add 424 jobs

Business First of Louisville - September 29, 2005
by John R. Karman III
Business First Staff Writer
 
Communications company might add 15 jobs
Executive Communications Inc., a Louisville company that assists businesses and other organizations with their communications resources, is considering the addition of up to 15 new jobs with an estimated annual payroll of $269,380. The average hourly wage would be between $12 and $18.

The company would invest about $80,000 in office equipment and infrastructure improvements. The firm currently is located on Linn Station Road and has 28 employees.

Executive Communications received preliminary approval for up to $349,726 in state tax incentives for up to 10 years.

Liz Welsh, the company president, called the incentives "very important" to the growth of her business.

"I'm really not sure that we can make this work" without them, she said.

Elizabeth Welsh wins NAWBO award

Business First of Louisville - March 31, 2005

Elizabeth Welsh, president of Executive Communications Inc., has won the 2005 Woman Business Owner of the Year award from the National Association of Women Business Owners, Louisville chapter.

The award was given during the chapter's annual luncheon, which was held Thursday at the Galt House Hotel and Suites.

Two women were named as the 2005 Women Business Owners of Distinction: Kye Hoehn, owner of Kye's, a special-events facility in Jeffersonville, Ind.; and Kimberly Kane, owner of Greenville, Ind.-based Personal Travel.

May 27, 2001
Section: FORUM
Edition: MET;METRO
Page: 03D
Column:RAYMOND LINDA

DERAILED BY THE FACTS
RAYMOND LINDA

…The story on TARC's poll reported that half of Jefferson County voters surveyed say they would support a tax increase to help build a light-rail system in Louisville. It also said that 82 percent of those surveyed think Louisville should have a light rail system.

…The poll, conducted for TARC in February, found that 69 percent of those polled have heard about TARC's proposal for a light rail transit system. That's up from 34 percent in 1998. Of those who have heard of light rail, 82 percent think it's a ``very'' or ``somewhat'' good idea.

Thirty-nine percent of those polled said they have used ``a local mass transit rail system in another city'' - excluding Amtrak - at least once in the last five years.

The poll explored a number of ideas for improving public transportation in the Greater Louisville Metro area, including building a light rail system. The response showed strong support - more than 90 percent - for maintaining and improving bus service, especially improving bus service for seniors and people with disabilities.

If they had a chance to vote on raising the occupational tax from 2.2 percent of earned income to 2.3 percent to improve public transportation - including providing light rail through central Jefferson County - 28 percent of those polled said they would definitely vote for it, and 23 percent said they would probably vote ``yes.''

The poll asked more questions to explore voters' feelings and asked the question about a tax increase in other ways. The results were roughly the same. Improving bus service for seniors and people with disabilities and building a light rail system consistently got substantial support...

The margin of error for questions involving 501 voters would be plus or minus 4.4 percent.

The margin of error for questions addressed only to those who have heard about light rail is higher, plus or minus 5.2 percent, according to (the) company that conducted the poll

TARC provided information on the survey to a Courier-Journal reporter in a 90-minute briefing by TARC executive director Barry Barker and Liz Welsh, president of Executive Communications, Inc., a TARC consultant. They used computer-generated graphics, including one showing that the percentage of those who think light rail is a ``good idea'' rose from 65 percent in 1998 to 82 percent in 2001. The percentage of those who believe it's not a good idea dropped from 35 percent to 18 percent in the same period…

May 22, 2001
Section: NEWS
Edition: MET;METRO
Page: 01B

Survey finds Jefferson voters support idea of light-rail system
CHRIS POYNTER

50 percent say they'd vote for a tax hike to help pay for it

Half of Jefferson County voters surveyed say they are willing to pay more taxes to help build a light-rail system in Louisville, according to a survey released yesterday by the Transit Authority of River City.

The poll, conducted by an independent research firm, reported that 82 percent of people surveyed think that Louisville should have a light-rail system and that 50 percent would vote to increase the county's occupational tax to pay for it.

The results pleasantly surprised TARC Executive Director Barry Barker because, he said, voters generally are reluctant to raise taxes. The survey shows that TARC ``is on the right track,'' Barker said.

…The survey was conducted by Executive Communications of Louisville.

Jackie Green, a TARC rider and member of the Bus Riders Union of Kentuckiana, said the survey's results were good news.

The union strongly supports building a light-rail system, Green said, because it will improve the quality of life and encourage residents and visitors to use public transit.

``People will hop in on a train more quickly than they will a bus,'' he said.

Mary Lou Northern, TARC's chairman of the board, said the survey gives transit officials a snapshot of the community's thoughts.

``It shows there's not only a high level of interest, but also a high level of support,'' she said.

Taking aim for your target market
Small businesses have tall order when developing an advertising strategy

Business First of Louisville - April 28, 2000
by Nicole Hendricks
Business First Correspondent

From mailbox fliers to Web banners, small-business owners should consider the merits of all possible mediums in reaching their targeted market, according to Michael Ashcraft, director of the Greater Louisville Small Business Development Center at 600 W. Main St.

"A lot of times people over- or underestimate the power of advertising," Ashcraft said. "One thing we recommend is that they check to see what is the norm for their particular type of business."

Many small businesses need help focusing very narrowly on who their customers will be, Ashcraft explained. …

Results, results, results
Tracking results is one important aspect of advertising that many business owners overlook, according to Ashcraft…

Because of the animated nature of their product, Newman and Guthrie, of Talking Point Graphics, decided the Yellow Pages wouldn't work for them. And Newman pointed out, "What would you look up? Graphics? Presentation?"

Instead, she and her partner worked with Liz Welsh of Executive Communications, a local firm that provides targeted lead generation to identify potential customers.

Getting through

Appointment-setting company makes cold calls seem easy

Business First of Louisville - June 25, 1999
by Rick Redding


Liz Welsh doesn't mind doing her clients' dirty work.

And in the sales arena, the dirty work is the exhaustive and time-consuming tasks of tracking down decision-makers and getting appointments.

Welsh's 2-year-old company, Executive Communications Inc., sets up appointments for executives too busy or too hesitant to do the legwork that results in getting in front of qualified prospects.

"She frees my sales staff from making cold calls, and she pursues qualified leads," says Amy Baach, president of a small graphic design company, Baach Creative Services Inc. "This gives us the time to develop new accounts. They do the dirty work for us, and we reap the results."

Baach says that until she began using Executive Communications, her staff of seven got new business only through word of mouth or referrals.

She says she's built several ongoing relationships with companies that she never knew existed until the connection was made through Executive Communications' cold calls.

"In 23 years in business, we never made these calls. It's been very instrumental in learning what people expect," she says.

Taking the plunge

Welsh spent more than a decade working in the Louisville office of the Washington, D.C.-based Clinton Group, which specialized in grass-roots political campaign communications. Welsh has worked on more than 1,000 communications campaigns, mostly to spread the word about political candidates or campaign issues.

While overseeing campaign call centers, she discovered a business niche for her telephone talents.

"We toyed with the idea that we'd make cold calls and set up appointments for clients," she says. "We eventually found out that traditional call-center work is difficult in the business-to-business environment."

That's because call centers operate in a way that is not business-friendly. Callers work from a script and don't allow for the caller to leave a message and have the call returned. She found that appointment setting on the executive level required investigative skills, a pleasant but persistent phone voice, and often introductory or follow-up mailings.

Welsh worked on a few projects while with the Clinton Group that opened her eyes to the possibility of running her own appointment-setting business, especially with the Greater Louisville Economic Development Partnership -- now an arm of Greater Louisville Inc.

Margaret Grissom, now president of the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce, was able to use Welsh's talents often when she was representing Louisville in the mid-1990s.

"There are areas of expertise, and getting through to people on the phone is not one of mine," says Grissom, who recently hired Executive Communications to set up appointments for her in New York. "Their skill is in getting through."

By 1997, Welsh says she was anxious to start her own business, and she took the plunge that October. She had one client, a managed-care consultant who needed to see decision-makers at large managed-care providers. Welsh began setting up appointments from her home.

One of her first calls was to Ted Grigg, president of Principal Health Care of Georgia. Welsh says Grigg made an appointment with her client, then asked Welsh about her business and said she was exactly what he needed.

Principal Health Care became one of Welsh's largest clients.

Six months later, the business moved from her home office. Welsh bought office space on Linn Station Road in the spring of 1998. The business topped $1 million in revenue in its first full year, with slightly more than 20 percent of that coming from business-to-business appointment setting and the rest from political work.

But she says the business-to-business work, especially in non-election years like 1999, is making up a bigger part of her company's income.

No magic

"There's no magic to it," Welsh says of her staff's techniques for setting business appointments. "But we don't get hung up on. We try not to use gimmicks."

She says she employs techniques such as anticipating responses and asking unexpected questions.

Welsh charges clients an hourly rate, averaging about $45, depending on the complexity of the assignment. She says the eventual cost for a qualified appointment with a decision-maker may run about $200 and up, including research, telephone calls and confirmations.

"We have a philosophy of relationship building," she says. "We make friends with gatekeepers. There are different approaches. We ask questions and insist on being absolutely polite and confident."

She says her preferred method is to send a series of postcards to her targeted appointment prior to making the first call. But before that, she insists on making sure she has targeted the right person.

Then the challenge is not making a sale, but getting an appointment.

That's the part that stalls sales for some. Her clients who need to get their foot in the door "tend to give it all away on the phone and don't get the meeting," Welsh says. "Clients say if they can get face-to-face, they can sell their product, and most products can't be sold over the phone."

And many salespeople also have an emotional investment in setting appointments, a process that's eliminated when a professional does it for them.

"Emotionally, we're not as crushed when people say no," says Lisa Cates, who joined Welsh when the business was operating at Welsh's home in 1997. "Salespeople are high-energy, and they need to be stoked. We get them in the door, and we're not closing sales for anyone."

Grissom says her experience with Executive Communications has been good precisely because it does something some salespeople don't do well.

"I don't think it's simply making cold calls. It's having the expertise to know how to get through and get appointments scheduled. That's the art of it," Grissom says.

Opening other doors

Brad Richardson is a strategic account manager for Quality Communications Inc. Like Grissom, he got to know Welsh when she was hired to set appointments for the Greater Louisville Economic Development Partnership.

He recently hired her again, this time to set up appointments at 800 health care clinics as part of a multimillion-dollar contract QCI had with MedPartners Inc., an Alabama-based physician practice management firm.

QCI was required to send technicians to each site and determine existing phone systems. Each visit had to be coordinated, and QCI didn't have a way to do it. So, he called Welsh.

"We had tech people trying to make appointments and do logistics," Richardson says of the recently completed work. "You can't just call and stammer and stutter, and at first we were doing that. If we hadn't brought them in, we may never have completed the project."

Ventures

for growing twin cities companies

Do Cold Calls Give You Cold Feet?

By Robert Celaschi

Most Sales people hate making cold calls.  Some hate it so much they're willing to pay someone else to do it -- and standing by to take the job on is Executive Communications Inc. in Louisville, Kentucky.

The two year old company does the ego-bruising work of setting up appointments so that the salespeople can do what they do best:  stand in front of the prospect and sell.

"Most of our clients are ad agencies, marketing consultants and other service industries," says owner, Liz Welsh.  They seek face time with the decision makers at, say, major pharmaceutical companies.  Executive Communications is even helping the city of Bowling Green, Kentucky with its economic development efforts, setting up appointments with companies that the city hopes to lure.

Corporate prospecting is only one of Executive Communications' services, though this year Welsh figures it will be about 60% of her business.  The company also does communications management work, scheduling and coordinating nationwide site reviews for corporations and such.  And Executive Communications does grassroots legislative marketing.  In a big election year the political end can grow to 75% of the company's efforts.

Welsh is known to the Insurance Federation of Minnesota from her days with her prior firm, The Clinton Group.  "She's just a dynamo," says Sherry Ask, Vice President of Consumer Affairs for the federation.  "She's very responsive to your compliments and criticisms.  She will do whatever it takes to make things happen."  Dealing mainly with healthcare legislation at
 the state house, Welsh "helped us pass some things and kill others," says Ask.

Welsh says she has never run across another company that does the kind of cold-calling that Executive Communications offers.  That may explain why only about 10% of her commercial new business development and prospecting business comes from the Louisville area.  The rest of her clients are spread from Massachusetts to California.

The associates at Executive Communications have one advantage over their clients when making those cold calls.  When they get a "no" it's the client being rejected, not the person making the call.