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Many aspiring entrepreneurs anticipate tiny details but overlook the obvious ones, such as the name of their company. For some reason it ranks last on the list, just below "turning the lights on," since naming a company shouldn’t be that hard.

Or so it would seem.

By the time I deal with business owners in this position, they are usually desperate. "I can’t believe we can’t find/agree/decide on a new name!" And so now the task has all the urgency of a bad toothache. "We need a name… is tomorrow a reasonable deadline?"

You, however, being much wiser than the masses, can easily avoid this trap by following a few simple guidelines.

1. Start the naming process early in the planning stage.

Besides avoiding last minute panic, going through the naming process early will help you to hone, define and clarify your true business strategy. By asking the all-important questions "Who are we and why are we different?" you will gain a better sense of what you plan to offer your customers. Put another way, "Why should a customer buy from us?" This requires some soul searching, which is why most business owners avoid it. In a rush to get to market, they believe they can be all things to all people and fear that by defining who they are, they will pigeonhole themselves. It’s exactly the opposite. If you don’t clearly understand who you are and what it is that you are offering, then how are your customers supposed to know? Many business owners mistakenly believe they offer the best quality, service and price. If that were true, the demand for your product would skyrocket and your service would suffer. Have you ever heard of a discount, drive-through Rolex store? Know yourself and the naming will come more naturally.

2. Make a list of all the competitors in your field.

You can do this easily by going to a directory such as Yahoo! and locating the category of companies in your industry. Most industries tend to follow a predominant naming pattern. For example, it may be filled with proper names such as J. Smith and Associates. Or perhaps your field is full of descriptive names such as Superior Printing or Precision Technology. Note these types of names and ask yourself whether you want a name that fits in with your category or one that stands out. Usually it makes sense to have a name that’s unique -- one that attracts attention and interest. But be honest with yourself. If you feel uncomfortable with sounding and looking different, then utilize a naming strategy that will sound good and still "fit" in your industry. This underscores the importance of understanding your direction. (See step one!)

3. Decide who will have input in the naming decision.

Usually, the more people you have involved, the worse the results. That’s because "group think" sets in, and only safe, ordinary and predictable names make it through the suffocating screening process. It’s best to work with a small inner circle of no more than three to five key people who have the company’s best interests at heart. Let this group be the incubator that spawns the ideas. You can always float a trial balloon by others later in the process. But in the early stages play it close and keep the creative juices running. There’s usually a person in every organization who derives their sense of power by shooting down ideas. Avoid those people like the plague. They are the same ones that would have said Amazon is a scary river and that Apple sounds too fruity.

4. Get down to brainstorming!

This is where the fun starts. First ask each person on the naming team to develop an individual list. That will spark unique ideas without the risk of bringing them up in a group setting. Once the individual lists are completed, bring them together and compare notes. Usually this generates even more ideas and possibilities. To stimulate the process, here are some proven naming strategie... • Metaphors (Jaguar, Caterpillar)

• Positive Connotations (DreamWorks, Bright House)
• Key Attributes (Sir Speedy, EconoLodge)
• Positioning (Best Buy, Car Max, Burger King)
• Evocative (Virgin, Song, Apple)
• Literal (Bed, Bath ... Beyond, Toys "R" Us)
• Acronym (PODS, 3M, KFC)
• Descriptive Hybrid (JetBlue, Circuit City, Travelocity)
• Coined/Invented (Xerox, Kodak, Pixar)

This is certainly not an exhaustive list of naming conventions, and some names seem to defy classification; but it should suffice to start the wheels turning. In addition to the above list, you can add additional elements to your naming strategy, such as alliteration (beginning with the same sound), double entendre (two meanings) and rhyming. To give you an example of how you can use all three, consider a garage conversion company which we named…

Park Place… "The Ultimate Garage Space"

Park Place is an example of a double entendre, since it has the figurative meaning of high-end real estate and the literal meaning of "a place to park." It also creates alliteration with the two "P"s. The tag line helps to further position the company while also creating a rhyme. By combining several naming strategies together, you can anchor your name in various parts of your customer’s brain. That’s because the brain stores rational and emotional thoughts in different areas. This way your name becomes extra "sticky" and therefore more memorable.

Need some extra tools to help? Try http://www.rhymer.com/naming.html if you simply get stuck. This is a rather mechanical approach, but you just might get lucky. And for an added treat check out http://visualthesaurus.com . Typing in a word will create a floating list of synonyms, which beats fanning through a thumb worn thesaurus.

5. Create a list of finalists.

From all the possible names pare the list down to a manageable three to six candidates. Play around with each one and write up a list of possible tag lines or positioning statements that could go with each name. Instead of simply evaluating the name for how it looks, or sounds, also evaluate it’s potential to provide a future marketing platform. A good example is a medical equipment company that we named TKO Surgical. The tag line "Technically Superior" added further support and the marketing platform utilized boxing terminology.

• "We’re in your corner!"
• "We’ll fight for you!"
• "We’ll champion your cause!"
• "We’ll beat any price!"

So instead of having a static name, TKO Surgical now had a dynamic brand that came with its own marketing lexicon.

6. Check the domain name status.

This can often be the most difficult part -- but it doesn’t have to be. Unless you are entirely dependent on the Internet, you can often add a descriptor word onto your domain name that will make it work. When we first named PODS® the matching domain name was already taken. So for the first several years the company used PODSusa.com This worked well since PODS was in the process of franchising across the United States. Try to avoid trite modifiers such as "online" or "e" or "cyber" unless it’s actually part of the name. A good place to check for ownership of a registered domain name is http://DomainTools.com. There you can find contact information for the current owner of a domain. If the domain is not being used, send the owner an inquiry asking if he or she would accept an offer to buy the name. If you are able to strike a deal, be sure to use a service such as http://Escrow.com to handle the transaction.

7. Check the trademark status.

The last thing you want to happen is to invest in a new name and then get tied up in a legal dispute. That’s easily avoidable by doing a trademark screening. Take your top picks and do a search at http://www.uspto.gov. Just because someone has a trademark on the name doesn’t mean you can’t use it. They may be in a different industry or a different geographic area. But this will give you some idea of the popularity of the name. Once the names have passed this initial test, take the remaining candidates (usually two to three max) and have an official trademark search performed. This is not a trademark filing -- just a search. But by using a professional service, you will uncover usage at the federal, state and local level. This can be very important later on as you grow. So do your homework upfront. The small fee here will save you big money later. One such service is http://TrademarkExpress.com. For a few hundred dollars they will thoroughly research and file the final trademark application.

8. Pick the winner!

If you have more than one name that meets all the criteria, then just pick the one you like best. At some point it simply comes down to making a decision. Don’t be surprised if you are not brimming with joy about your choices. The best names are often the ones that grow on you gradually. So don’t be discouraged if you are not head-over-heels about the name. If you have carefully followed all the steps above, the name is probably a sound one, and you have just grown tired of the process. Once a logo is designed and the name takes shape, the excitement will grow. A number of my clients who were initially hesitant to make a final choice are now in love with names.

That’s the naming process in a nutshell. Taken in steps and combined with advanced planning, the project can be accomplished in a matter of weeks. If the whole task seems daunting, you might consider hiring a professional business naming and branding firm, but be prepared to pay. Naming fees, from concept to final artwork, can range from $7,500 to $75,000, depending on the size and scope of the project. After the sticker shock wears off, some business owners opt to make this investment, given the potential upside of a great company name and the downside of a poor one.

In short, naming a company requires an element of creativity, knowledge, research and planning. By following this guideline, you can map out a successful strategy that avoids the common pitfalls and produces great results. And that’s really the name of the game!