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Posts Tagged ‘small business’

The recent recession and the phases of layoffs have lots of people thinking about making money from home. Many people find out the hard way that they cannot rely on corporations to give them jobs and that they must start a business making money for themselves. This is the key reason why starting a home based business or a small business has become so popular. There are lots of work from home ideas for people to try as well as work at home reviews to help them pick the most appropriate businesses to start building.

For a small business, the startup costs can be overwhelming. There are lots of thing you need to do when starting a business such as advertising, marketing, branding, stocking up inventory and the list goes on. While a big business often has a large advertising and marketing budget, a small business often does not. If you already decided on what kind of business you are starting, you may want to get the words out about your business by networking with people you know. You can advertise your products or services with little cost by word of mouth. You can tell your family members and friends and ask them to tell anyone they know about your products or services. By attending events and network with other professionals such as at chamber of commerce meetings, you will meet and connect with people who might want your products or services.

Your brand name is also important. A brand is a name or trademark connected with a product or producer. Brands have become increasingly important components of culture and the economy. If you are working with a brand name product, then people will already have heard of your product and it will not be hard to market it to the right group of people. If you have invented something then you might want to protect your proprietary rights through trademark registration. For a business owner to be successful, he or she will need to put in a lot of efforts into the business.

Ask any successful company owner how he generates most of his business and he will instantly tell you that he does it through referrals. Read any marketing ideas book and they will all say the same exact thing. Ask him to explain the referral system that he is using and you are very likely to get a blank stare. Only this week I asked the vice president of two large companies what type of referral system they had in place. Both said, they did not, referrals just happened for them. So does death, but it does not mean you should wait around for it!

Referrals are the life-blood of any good business. There is simply not a faster way to build your customer and prospect base and increase your company’s revenue than to double or even triple your referral rate, but to make that happen you have to have a referral effective system!

The Psychology of referrals

Let’s start by looking at the psychology of referrals. The first fact you should know is that opposite to what many believe, most people actually like to give referrals. There are three reasons for this:

1) The first is ego. When someone buys something new he wants his friends and neighbors to be impressed. He wants them to know what a great deal he got. When was the last time you met someone who bought a new car and told you what a schmuck they were for buying it?

2) The second reason is that most people like to feel important, they like to be the center of attention or information.

3) The third reason is that people like their friends and neighbors to share and experience the same things they do!

Many people are bashful or just downright afraid of asking for a referral. They do not want to seem pushy, desperate or, heaven-forbid, both. While I assure you that most people really do like giving referrals, you can make the process even more painless by re-framing the way you ask for a referral.

When a parent signed up a child for martial arts lessons at my karate school, I immediately went for a referral, but rather than asking outright that the student bring in some friends, I positioned it like this. “Mrs. Smith, often when a child comes into the first class he can be a little tentative because he does not know anybody and everything is new. We’ve found that one of the best ways to counter this is to have him bring a couple of his friends into the first class with him. That way I can guarantee that he will settle right in, and, of course, there is no charge for his friends.”

Other such conversations could be: “Who else at work would like to help out by sharing this opportunity with them before the prices go up?” or “Can I help anyone else in your company save time by employing this service or product?” or, “Who else can I help become a more productive part of your company’s team?”

How you phrase your request for a referral can make the process much easier. So too can your timing. Right after you have just completed a sale is the best time to ask for a referral. This is the time when excitement and anticipation are always at the highest level.

The first commitment you must make to double or triple your referrals is as simple as just asking for them. Not sometimes, not when you feel like doing it, not when you are having a really good day, not if you feel the customer likes you, but ask every single time in as many different ways as you can think of. There are seven groups from which you can gain referrals;

1) Ask new clients to purchase again. The reason we get referrals is so that we can sell more products, right? Well, the very first thing to consider before we even start to work on the referral stage process, is, can we sell anything else to this new customer in front of us right now? A concealed weapons permit to go with the new handgun? Or a car detailing service to go with the new car they just bought?

2) Ask new clients who else might benefit even if you most recent customer does not want to buy something else from you, it is almost certain that he knows someone who has similar needs. Everyone is an opinion leader to some group.

3) Ask non-customers for a referral even when a sales presentation has not been very successful, there is no reason why you should not ask for a referral. The landscaper who did my yard told me that he had contracted to do two new jobs each was worth almost ,000, as a result of asking for a referral from two homeowners who had turned his bids down.

Simply say to your lead, “I am sorry I do not seem to be able to meet your needs today. Who else do you know who might be interested in a, whatever your product happen to be?” Notice that I didn’t ask if they knew anyone, for that almost always results in a instant NO response. I asked who else they knew, suggesting that there must be someone. It is a subtle difference that makes a huge difference in the response you will elicit.

4) Ask ex-clients- Just because a clients is an ex-clients does not mean he or she cannot or will not refer you business. Always stay in contact with ex-clients; you never know when they might surprise you. I recurrently get referrals from ex-clients who have since moved on to other things but still have friends or contacts in my industry.

5) Don’t be afraid to ask your business suppliers for referrals from their company. Remember, you also buy goods and services from other companies. You are a good client to someone’s business. That someone should be glad to give you referrals. Make sure to that you always remind your suppliers that you are always in the market for new leads or prospects, and that you will be sure to return the favor.

6) Demand more referrals! As a speaker I actually demand referrals from my clients by including a clause in my speaking contract that includes, as partial payment, the guarantee of two referrals for a job well done. Thus I have massively increased my referral base.

7) Acquiring referrals from your competitors. Competitors can often be a vert good source of referrals. Sometimes you get a job that you don’t want. It is not the amount of revenue you are looking for, or the company is too small, or the new prospect isn’t accepting your ideology! In these cases, instead of letting the prospect bounce around to three or four more people, take the proactive approach and refer them to someone who can help them at once. They in return will refer people to you!

When a customer gives you a referral that results in a sale, at the very least, you should send him a “thank you” note. Every time you thank one of your customers for a referral, you have the opportunity to repeat the cycle by asking for another referral. Always end each “thank you” communication, by asking if the customer knows of anyone else who might benefit from what you have to offer.

Make it easy to get referrals

When I sell one of my audio programs I often include postcards, fax sheets or reply cards to encourage an instant response and referrals for my programs. If you are able to make it easier for people to promote you and your company, the more they will do it.

When I bring on a new partner to my golf management firm I will send them multiple brochures and cds that they can give out to other people in the industry

Referrals are the life-blood of any good company or service, but they work a whole lot more predictably and effectively when you develop and follow a system so that good leads don’t just slip through the cracks. Oh and if you know anyone who needs sales or marketing help refer them to me!

Copyright 2006 Quick Turn Marketing International, Ltd.

My hair grows so damn fast. I have to get a hair cut every 3 weeks. Every time I need a haircut I go to Peter in downtown, Vancouver.

You know… Peter actually worked in New York 10 years ago. I guess you could say he earned his chops in New York. And he’s cut hair for many celebrities, including Jim Carrey, etc.

Then he moved to Vancouver and opened his own salon.

Well, if Pete is good enough for Jim Carrey then he’s good enough for Dan Lok.

I’ve been going there for 8 years now.

Talk about customer loyalty!

Yeah… so I’m sure you are asking why am I so damn loyal? Right?

What makes Pete different than the other hairdressers? Why do I go back to him again and again?

Well I’ll tell you. Pete works at it. He builds loyal customers in each interaction and builds them into every haircut he produces. He didn’t attract the stars simply because he cuts hair well (though he does). He also offers exceptional customer service.

And I have to tell you, even if Pete’s haircutting ability wasn’t 110%, I’d probably still go back. Why? Customer service. Commitment. Quality.

So ask yourself, how do YOU build loyal customers?

The best way to build loyal customers is by using the loyalty ladder concept. I want you to picture an ordinary ladder.

Now consider each rung of the ladder. Each “rung” is a “stage” of loyalty a customer may have. There are many different stages of loyalty customers demonstrate at each rung of the ladder:

* Raving Fan

* Devotee

* Member

* Customer

* Shopper

* Prospect

* Suspect

Let’s describe each of these in more detail.

Suspect

The suspect is the lowest rung on your ladder, when a customer starts out on your loyalty ladder. This is when customer’s are at the very bottom of your ladder. These are people who may or may not want or need what it is you sell. They may not have any money. They are simply people who are not buying.

Prospect

Prospects are suspects who have taken some sort of action like subscribing to your newsletter, giving you their email addresses or those who have asked you for some sort of free information. They are people who may turn into active customers, but aren’t there yet.

Customer

A customer is anyone who has actually spent money with you. You have to differentiate between your prospects and your customers. This is one of the reasons it is so damn important you segment your lists. You don’t want to have everyone on ONE BIG list.

At the very least, you should have a prospect list and customer list. You should treat your prospects and customers very differently. You should always give your customers more attention. Give them a better deal than everyone else. Why? They are already paying you for your products and services. Prospects are important, but customers are even more important.

Member

A member is someone who buys from you more than once. These are customers that now trust you. They feel they belong with you in some way. Now listen up. Customers who make two purchases are 10 times more likely to make more than someone who makes only one purchase with you. So anyone who is a member deserves special attention, because if they buy twice, they are likely to buy again.

Devotee

What’s the difference between a devotee and a member? A devotee is someone who not only buys from you, but tells other people about you. They send you referrals. They promote you actively. They are happy to be your free sales force because they get so much value from you.

Raving Fan

The next stage in the ladder is Raving Fans. Usually only 1% to 5% of your customers become Raving Fans. They’re one of your most valuable assets. They pretty much own everything you have. And, whatever new products and service you come up with, they will buy without blinking an eye.

The Raving Fan will stick with you for years as long as you don’t screw up in a major way.

There’s a very strong trust and bond with you and the Raving Fans. They trust you 100%. They want to see you succeed. They want to see you do well. If a devotee is someone who sells for you, a Raving Fan is someone who can’t STOP selling for you. Raving Fans tell everyone about how fantastic you are. They talk about your company. They love you.

These days it’s more expensive than ever to get a new customer. Most businesses in fact are acquiring their customers at a loss or break-even point. That means you have to get your customers to come back to you and buy again and again.

Why? That customer isn’t simply profitable to you. They are your most important resource. What you want, what you need is as many raving fans as you can get.

You will succeed when you sort your prospects from suspects, move people up from prospects to customers, from customers to raving fans.

You need to have a marketing system that automatically moves people up the loyalty ladder as quickly as humanly possible.

Very soon, it’ll be like me and Pete. I am one of Pete’s Raving Fans. I send him clients. I sell for him WITHOUT him asking me to it. I write about him in my article! I only go to him and nobody else. And I am thrilled to show up every month, 12 times a year to give him money. And I’ll keep going to him unless he retires from the business. That could be another 10 to 20 years.

You see how much a Raving Fan like me is worth to Pete’s business?

Sincerely,

Dan Lok

Driving traffic to your website can be a time consuming task. However, these easy tips may help you increase traffic and convert those visitors into actual customers.

1. Title on your main URL and secondary pages
Originally, my title was ADVANCED SYSTEMS-A Leadership & Organizational Training & Development Firm near Chicago, IL.  If I searched for the first two words ADVANCED SYSTEMS using Overture at http://inventory.overture.com I found a little over 4,000 keyword searches. By using this tool, I entered various key words and discovered that the term education and training had over 210,000 searches during the previous month.  Research also recommends that the title length not exceed 77 characters and so I continued researching the most effective key words to pair with my first two terms.  Also, additional reading suggested that you indicate your location within this title.  Even though the completed title may exceed the recommended length, this is OK because the search engines do read beyond 77 characters.  Also, as you construct or revise each page, make sure that title has the appropriate key words.  Currently, I am doing that for my site because as stated earlier ADVANCED SYSTEMS is not a popular searched term.

2. Content
Both my Internet marketing coach (www.leaders-perspective.com) and my marketing consultant (www.hodgecommunications.com) acknowledged that the content on my site of which I wrote was of exceptional editorial quality. Their praises made me feel very good. However, both told me that the content wouldn’t “sell an igloo to an Eskimo.” This wasn’t what I wanted to hear after spending hundreds of hours writing this exceptional content. Currently, I am revisiting each page and rewriting the content using a marketing content focus instead of editorial one.  I had failed one of the basic lessons in marketing – write to the audience needs by identifying potential benefits not your expertise.

3. Search Words
Again using the mentioned site in tip #1, I began to rewrite the content and then checked key words and phrases to ensure that they were embedded within the content. Writing in Microsoft Word, the writer can go to the Edit button and scroll down to the Find icon.  By typing in a specific word or phrase, this handy tool will check to see how many times it appears in the document. A note of caution – Be careful not to overload your content with search words because the robots are quite sophisticated and can distinguish this overload.

4. Call to Action
Within the content on each page should be a call to action.  The visitor should be encouraged to sign up for a free newsletter or contact your office by phone or email. Also, you can provide links to other pages within your website such as “click to hear read more articles.”

5. Thematic Approach
Using a theme entices search engines to travel through all the pages within your site. The theme can be your unique selling proposition. Also, a thematic approach encourages your visitors to visit more than one or two pages.

6. Use of Pictures,  Graphics and Flash
Pictures are far more effective than clip art. Remember to use a variety of genders and ethnicity because your Internet audience is diverse. Be careful with flash and other time consuming graphics as they may consume too much time to download. Many visitors leave sites if the site doesn’t download in a matter of seconds.  Time is money not only for you, but your visitors as well.

7. Free Offers   
Visitors like to receive free offers from ezine booklets to articles to recommendations on books and other sites. Entice your visitors with freebies and have them coming back for more.

8. Regular Updates
Sites need to be updated on a regular basis to encourage Search Engines to continually visit your site. A static site is not good for web traffic or building relationships with your visitors. Construct a plan to revisit your pages to provide new content for Search Engines. HINT: Remember to check Key Words as you update your pages.

9. Perfection and Under Construction
Since web sites should not be static, perfection is an ongoing experience.  Don’t wait until the content is perfect.  Load it and then watch your statistics.  Under construction shouldn’t be forever, however prioritize those pages you wish to update first. If you need to add a page, do so and mark it as “Under Construction.”  I currently have several new pages “Under Construction” and still have yet to revise all my pages.  Working using a plan (see tip 8), I anticipate completing the entire site within the next 30 days.  And then, revisit at least 2 pages each month to update the content.

These last two months have been an incredible learning experience for me as I continue to work on my site to expand traffic and therefore potential clients. For example, one of the most visible results has been a 300% increase on one of my revised pages (http://www.processspecialist.com/youth.htm). Even though the site is still has pages under construction, I know that following these 9 simple tips will continue to multiply traffic and eventually increase my client base.

Word Count: 853

Copyright 2005(c)  Leanne Hoagland-Smith, www.processspecialist.com

This article may be freely published. Permission to publish this article, electronically or in print, as long as the bylines are included, with a live link, and the article is not changed in any way (grammatical corrections accepted).

Copyright 2006 Inspiration, Inc

Did you know that the average person will spend less than 15 seconds reading your webpage? So much for all that perfectly-precise text where you describe absolutely everything you do in loving detail! Guess what-no one’s reading it. They’re skimming. Are you skimming now?

A couple months ago I bought some website traffic analysis software so I could tell how my search engine placement is going and see what my popular pages were. I about fell over dead when I realized how quickly people click in and out, especially because I do some pay-per-click advertising that costs me over $1 per click! Being a detail-queen myself, I had to completely re-think my copy writing.

To be the most effective, your website copy should be written for 3 types of website browsers. If you make these small tweaks, you’ll have your bases covered!

Tweak Number 1: Write for People Who Scan: Most people surfing the web are page scanners. To speak to them, employ a combination strategy for easy readability:

• Use effective headlines (big and small)
• Be sure to bold text on important words
• Include text boxes with small bits of copy
• Utilize photos with word captions
• Give them bulleted lists

If your page is scan-friendly, a reader will be able to understand the main benefits of what your business does, without ever having to read the tiny text.

Tweak Number 2: Write for People Who Love Details: Now that you’ve grabbed someone’s attention with your headlines, then you want to deepen their interest with the small text. Don’t put very much detail on your home page. Put the detailed information a level or two deep, in the places where someone is looking for specific information. Remember, you want to break up the tiny text with lots of breaks for those page scanners.

Tweak Number 3: Write for Computers: That’s right, I said write for those computers – you know the ones that determine your search engine placement. One of the best ways to improve your search engine placement is to include lots of keywords in your writing. (Don’t be obnoxious and type your keywords in a nonsense fashion. That can get you banned from search listings.) But, DO use your relevant keywords on every page, in the headlines and in the details. Here’s another trick you might not know: if you use bold font for your keywords, it can help your results. Detailed articles & newsletters (with your keywords) work well too. Go ahead and build your site deep with rich content, just don’t lose the page scanners by putting the detail up front.

When you strike a harmonious balance of all three types of website copy, you should notice better results. When I focused on keywords, Google bumped me up to the 2nd page for “small business coach.” When I revamped my home page, my newsletter subscription rate tripled. When I started archiving my newsletter articles, I noticed that I got more traffic from people searching for those specific topics. Try some of these small changes, and watch what happens.

A few weeks ago I was watching my 7 year old Grandson Joel as he was drawing a picture of a strawberry patch.

As he drew, it began to look more and more like a Christmas wreath than a strawberry patch. I told him that it looked pretty good, but suggested to him that “maybe you could put a few strawberries here, and here and here” as I pointed to the big white area in the middle of his drawing.

He looked at me in all seriousness and said…

“Grandpa, it doesn’t matter what YOU think, it’s what the artist thinks!”

It was funny at the time, but I have been thinking about this quite a bit.

You know what? He is right!

There is a great lesson to be learned here. The lesson applies very well to Internet marketing. Actually it applies well to ANY kind of marketing, it doesn’t necessarily have to be on the internet.

We have a tendancy to come up with an idea that we think is the greatest thing since sliced bread. We’re absolutely convinced that everybody will beat a path to our door to buy our product. We spend lots of money to develop a sales campaign, build a website, buy advertising and so on, and spend a lot of time and effort to draw people to our website, get good search engine positioning, and then more often than not we’re disappointed because very few people buy our products.

Could it be that the marketplace doesn’t care about our opinion?

Does that hurt your ego? It shouldn’t. It should open your eyes to this very simple, but wildly profound truth.

IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK, IT’S WHAT THE MARKETPLACE THINKS THAT IS IMPORTANT!

Big companies spend millions of dollars on market research, testing and surveys before they ever spend any money in developing a product or marketing a product. Doesn’t it make sense that before we ever spend a dime on any kind of product development, website development or whatever that we should spend some time first to find out what people are buying, when do they buy, and how do they buy?

By doing proper research in advance, you’ll save yourself a lot of wasted time and effort, and you’ll be rewarded many times over by successful, money making websites. Finding profitable “niches” is not a difficult process, but it can make all the difference in the world as to whether or not your website will be a huge success or a dismal failure.

As you consider what kind of websites you’ll be building, keep in mind the lesson learned from a 7 year old.

Leaving your full time job to start your own business can be the biggest risk you ever take, but can be an exciting and rewarding enterprise.  Taking time to consider work at  home ideas will take some of the anxiety out of the decision. 

As you try to escape the workday world and work from home, there are ways to keep yourself motivated and inspired.  Ideas abound about what type of business to get into, how much planning should go into it, whether you should take out a loan, refinance your home or use your savings to invest in a home-based enterprise.

Once the decision is made to work from home, ideas are available from both obvious and less-noticeable sources.

A valuable step is thinking what exactly your goals are.How much money is it possible to make?Is retiring at 55, what you want?  Work less than 20 hours a week?Is selling to a competitor in few years your goal? Your work at home ideas ought to reflect the answers to these questions.

You should formulate a vision of yourself and the home based business.A five year picture should be envisioned.Which prospects in the work at home field have the potential to fulfill these dreams?  Are there work from home business opportunities that allow you to express your passions and make money at the same time?Passion is needed in home based business otherwise the low risk low reward of the 9 to 5 is preferable.

In order to be successful at a home business, passion and skill are required. Many of the work from home ideas started when someone’s passion was matched against a market niche.Do your family and friends know of a business that you, using your talents, would be great at?  Which skills do people come to you for?What is the value of those skills?

When developing your work from home ideas, make sure you write down all your thoughts and beliefs.  These will guide you and ensure that your business is the proper one for you.Vision and passion will help facilitate the attaining of said goals.

While devising a business plan that will be revisited, utilize this information.  Sometimes your initial work from home ideas vision will remain the same, but your path to achieving the vision will take some detours, or hit a bumpy stretch.Your values and beliefs will carry you during these times.

Because of the recession and the financial strain that everybody is experiencing today, some people have opt to go head-on for a business venture and if you care to browse the Internet, you will be surprised to find a steady increase in the number of business opportunities from MLM or multi-level marketing, selling products online, doing home staging business, foreclosure business and even soap-making. Now, there is one more opportunity that people are looking into and that’s collectible selling.

There is even this one guy who started collecting action figures ever since he was a little boy and just a few weeks ago, he planned to sell them to somebody who is interested in his collection, for a price. Now, he’s doing his collection thing again. He’s presently collecting, of all things, dolls, which he bought from different places all over the world and what he needs to do next is to learn some collectible appraisal system so that he can determine how much money he could actually earn after selling his doll collection. Indeed, selling your collectibles can be lucrative, too. So, is there something of great interest to you?

One strong suggestion that you might like to get is to start with your own collection of anything. You might have been collecting butterflies and other stuffed animals, CDs, coins, cassette tapes. If you don’t have one, which might be impossible, you can start to collect things of your own interest and if you indeed one to make profit from them, you should also be aware of collectible values. Try to find out what makes people go crazy. It might not be of interest to you but it can surely be an interest to somebody else. One guy even go over the edge collecting cars and selling them off for a profit but he sold them in bulk, meaning, his whole collection and he even doubled the money he invested in collecting cars. So, what about you? What are your likes or interests or better yet, what have you found out that is of great interest to others?

So, you want to start something new? You say you want to start a home-based business of your own? Well, have you decided yet on what kind of business venture? Here is one advice for you. Be sure that what you want is something of interest to you. You need to find your niche so that you will be working conveniently and easily. Going for a business venture that is not in line with your interest or you don’t have any expertise from it will only make matters worse. If you like cakes, you can learn how to start cake decorating business.

Almost all people right now, both men and women, are really looking into this sort of business endeavor. Cake decorating is now a very lucrative business but in the days of the old, few people have realized its financial capabilities when it comes to earning extra money on the sides. Why, right now, there are even other people who considered it as their full-time career. Times today are very hard and that’s a fact. More and more people are losing their jobs and that’s why, they would go into any kind of business as long as it is legitimate and legal. They would love to try and learn something new, almost anything, so they can turn it into their own personal money-making machine and one of them is home cake decorating business.

And the best part is, you don’t have to go out of your way in order to learn how to decorate a cake or even how to bake one. Online, there are lots of book guides and other learning tools that can teach you how to decorate a cake and how to start cake decorating business. You can just stay at home and learn all the things you need to learn on how to do that. And you don’t have to worry who you’re clients are. You can start with your friends or relatives and whenever they have some occasion to celebrate, you can present yourself and your cake-decorating talents to them.

More and more people are being made redundant and unemployment rates are increasing on a daily basis. It can be a very difficult period in one’s life when the lose their job but people need to try and think in a positive manner. This is far from easy however however becoming down and depressed will not help the situation.

I was made redundant from a financial services corporation when I was aged twenty-two. Due to my age I was not in reality too bothered about the whole situation. I decided to think positively about the situation; in reality I did not even like the job that I was in, I found it rather boring. It has always been my goal to run my own business and this was a great opportunity for me to do this. Being made redundant turned out to be a blessing in disguise; I would probably have left the company within a few months in any case but this way they were actually paying me a redundancy package to leave!

I decided to use this windfall to start my own home based business. I was going to run one-to-one stuttering therapy courses to help people to achieve fluency. I am a person who has managed to successfully overcome a stutter and I therefore felt that I had something to offer.

Working from home has many benefits as I have found to my own benefit. These include being your own boss and therefore not having to answer to other people. Choosing your own hours, choosing the amount of hours you work and the amount of holidays that you have. As an example instead of working nine to five and having to spend a further two hours travelling through the rush hour traffic, this is no longer an issue. The time spent travelling to work, normally in a rush hour period, is basically time that could be better spent. I am a person who prefers to work late at night and at times early in the morning when the world is seemingly at its quitest.

Working from home now allows me to go to all of the important events in my children’s lives. For example attending their school sports days, the christmas play, parents evenings, the visits to the dentists. People who are “employed” have to miss a number of these events due to a lack of holiday time or a lack of flexibility at their work.

I now have partnerships in other business ventures including one offering a DVD replication service and one offering catering supplies UK.

Setting up my own home based business has been the best thing that I have ever done and I would recommend other people to do the same.