Month: May 2012

Categories
Success Attitude

3 No-Cost Ways to Positively Grow Your Business

You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.

In a financially-strapped economy like this one, a common response to suggestions to grow business is negative.

“I can’t afford to advertise.”

“I have to cut marketing expenses.”

We focus on what we can’t do.

Will that grow your business?

What would it cost you to follow Zig Ziglar’s advice to positively grow your business?

Here are 3 no-cost ways to positively grow your business by helping others get what they want:

Greet with a Welcoming Smile

Ever watched one person yawn and within seconds everyone else in the group is yawning or stifling one?

Shawn Achor in his fantastic book, The Happiness Advantage, says that happens because our brains have mirror neurons that fire back what we receive. A yawn prompts a yawn…

…and a smile elicits a smile.

A smile at the door of your business begins the creation of a positive experience for your guests. That smile means they will likely smile back and so starts a delightful conversation that climaxes in a purchase today that leads to a relationship tomorrow that increases her lifetime value to your business in real dollars.

What that customer really wants is someone who opens the door to helping her find what she wants for her family, her friend’s child about to graduate, her car’s need of an oil change, etc.

Your greeting smile is invariably returned and invites, “Come in and let’s find what you want.”

Give a Listening Ear

Jeb Blount in his marvelous book, People Buy You, asks, “Do you take a genuine interest in others?”

In his outstanding book, Lead from the Heart, Mark C. Crowley states, “We must be willing to look at and really see the humanity in every person who works for us.”

Connecting with others as human beings is transformational, creating employees, customers, and vendors for life rather than merely “one and done.”

The surest, best way to connect is to give a listening ear. Ask a question and listen with interest. Feedback what you hear. Listen some more. Then ask another question. Keep listening.

Yes, it costs time, energy, and attention. See beyond the immediate investment and gaze long-term into the relationship that will pay dividends for years.

Grow Politely Considerate

Numerous surveys reveal social civility is at an all-time low. Road rage incidents are rising. It’s an election year and negative advertising increases our collective economic uncertainty.

Yes, we have an oversupply of jerks.

Avoid being one more.

Thank that customer for being your guest today regardless of whether she buys or not.

Give her a coupon of appreciation to use on her next visit just for stopping by.

Ask for her contact information so you can let her know when the next sale starts.

Get her birth date and send her a “Happy Birthday” email.

Give her your Facebook fan page address and encourage her to download the unadvertised specials and share with her friends.

Be on her side. She’s struggling to make ends meet, too.

The Golden Rule works. Work the Golden Rule.

Then with a welcoming smile, a listening ear, and polite consideration, watch as your business positively grows as you implement these 3 no-cost ways.

About the Author: 

Dr. Joey Faucette is the #1 Amazon best-selling author of Work Positive in a Negative World (Entrepreneur Press), coach, and speaker who helps professionals discover success in the silver lining of their business and achieve their dreams. Discover more at www.ListentoLife.org/speaking.

Categories
Operations

How to Price a Product

I recently received a request from one of my blog readers to do an article on pricing your product. He sent me some great articles he found on the net. After reading them I realized he may have been over thinking the pricing issues. To me it is fairly simple. There are only three outcomes to consider:

  1. Your product is priced too high and no action is taken (the competition is complacency.)
  2. Your product is priced too high and it invites the buyer to buy from someone else (I need to make sure I am getting the best VALUE.)
  3. You price your product to low and you introduce concern from the buyer because he wonders what is being missed (lack of trust.)

Pricing your product can be simple if you let it but you must price it from the buyer’s perspective. As a business owner you need to know both your fixed and variable cost and ensure you cover those cost while remembering the buyer is not concerned with your cost. They simply don’t care.

From my perspective, here is what you need to be concerned about. What does your competition charge? This is important if the consumer has a preconceived notion of the value of the product. For example, if I go to a paint store and see a gallon on paint is priced at $50, I might go to another store to see if I can get the same quality (different brand) for a better price. I may have a belief that I am not going to pay more than $30 for a gallon of paint (or $20K for a car, or $3 for loaf of bread, or $1 for a pen, etc.)

The bigger issue for me is the value proposition. I believe people will pay to solve a problem and in many respects they will pay a premium if they believe you are the right and safe choice. Making the buyer understand that you are the right and safe choice is both hard and critical. Understand this is not a universal construct. For example, if I have $1 to spend for pen it may not matter if it is a BIC or another brand as long as it fits my budget. If I have a Rolls Royce for sale and my buying audience cannot afford a Rolls (or do not want it) then price it does not matter.

The hard work is the unique value proposition, helping other to understand your value, where and how to market your product and knowing how the problem you solve will allow you to charge more.

Pricing the product is in fact telling a story about the product. For example, why would I pay $50 for a gallon of paint when I can a similar product for 40% less? If price is not an issue, you can focus on the parts of the products story that are important to a client. The higher price for the paint can be told in a story: it is safer (less smell), easier to clean (important to a busy mother because it save time), last longer (don’t have to do it as often), provide a better finish (looks better), or is easier to apply (saves time.)  If those concepts are not important to your audience, you have a different kind of problem.

Sometimes price is not a consideration. If you are selling to high net worth individuals, they are buying prestige and convenience. The price is secondary. If I am buying a gallon of paint, price is primary.

Finally, pricing is impacted by the demographics of the audience. It is harder to sell your product using “pain” as the value proposition when selling to an older audience because their life experience tells them that “been there done that. This too shall pass.” Pain works better on younger people who have a need for more immediate gratification.

Bottom line is that pricing is an effective marriage between cost to produce, what people will pay, and the story that motivates them to buy.

Categories
Finance & Capital

Pension Planning for the Self-Employed

If you’re self-employed you’ll be well aware of the different and sometimes confusing financial rules which apply to you compared to your otherwise employed friends.  Like with most things, your pension will also be different, since you’re self-employed and pay lower rates of national insurance.  Conventionally, each person is entitled to a basic state pension, and this includes those who are self-employed. On top of this, if you earn a certain amount you’ll also be entitled to the additional state pension.  A lot of people choose to “contract out” their state pension for a private pension.  If you’re self-employed you won’t automatically get an additional state pension so you need to start up a private pension as soon as possible, to ensure financial safety in the future.

Different types of pensions for the Self Employed:

There are two different types of personal pension plans available to the self-employed. Below is a guide to both, with a brief overview of what a pension plan is in the first place.

Personal pension plan – a personal pension plan is a basic investment policy for retirement, whereby you end up with a lump sum and an income throughout your retirement.  You can get a personal pension plan at any high street bank, investment firm and some retailers, like big supermarket chains.

The pension holder contributes a certain amount of money into the pension which is then invested and should yield returns in order to build up a fund.  The amount of pension payable during retirement then is dependent upon how much has been contributed into the scheme, and how well the investment has performed, as well as the “annuity rate”.

25% of the pension can be paid as a tax-free lump sum.

Stakeholder Pension Schemes – a stakeholder scheme is a type of personal pension plan i.e. it is designed to supply you with a lump sum and income in your later years.  Stakeholder pensions have a set of minimum rules set out by the government.  These include:

–          Minimum contribution of £20

–          No penalties on transferring the fund to another pension or on increasing, decreasing, stopping or restarting contributions.

–          Charges capped at 1.5% of the fund each year for the first ten years and 1% a year thereafter.

Self Invested Personal Pension – A self invested personal pension or SIPP is another type of pension plan which allows the pension holder a lot more control over the investments made with the pension.  The same kind of tax, contribution and eligibility rules apply, but with an SIPP an individual can choose where the money is invested.

The plan holder can have direct control over the investment strategy or can hire a stock broker or fund manager to look after the investment.  The SIPP is set up as a trust, which means the plan holder can borrow money from the fund to invest as long as the trustees agree it is in the scheme’s interest.

Getting the Advice you Need:

The self-employed are one of the most neglected groups of people when it comes to getting sound financial advice.  Between 1998 and 2004 the percentage of self-employed people with a pension plan dropped from 64% to 49% according to the Office for National Statistics, with more than half of self employed women lacking any kind of private pension.  This is why a national pension helpline has been set up by The Pensions Advisory Service to offer advice specific to those who are self-employed.  If you’re self-employed and thinking about your financial future then it’d be a good idea to speak to a professional financial advisor to get the help you need.

Categories
Starting Up

Don’t Be Afraid of Your Competition

For many self-employed professionals and owners of small businesses, there is a natural impulse to view the competition as the enemy. After all, you’re competing for the same pool of clients, and their success could translate into your hardship. That’s why many businesses see the competition the way warring countries see each other—with suspicion, a little fear, and even some scorn. But in today’s hypersocial business climate, it’s time to move on from these old approaches and start seeing opportunity in competition.

Your competitors probably aren’t going away any time soon, so try to make the best of things. Here are a few tips for turning competition into a good thing.

  1. Always be positive: Privately, you may have negative things to say about your competition, and some of these things may be more or less true. But there’s no sense in airing these things publicly. Doing so can actually make you look bad. Always take the high road, and your clients and prospective clients will respect you for it. When asked for your opinion about a competitor or their services, always say something nice (or at least not negative).
  2. Be inspired: Competition breeds innovation. When you see a competitor doing something well, it should make you want to find ways to do it even better. Stay up to date on what your competitors are up to. For example, if you are in retail, you might visit your competitors’ stores regularly. If they have a strong online presence, check their websites often and follow their Facebook or Twitter feeds. And when you see something you like, don’t just copy what they’re doing. Use it as inspiration to provide a similar service that’s even better.
  3. Recognize competitors’ strengths: There may be a few areas where you just have to concede victory to the competition. On these points, don’t be afraid to recommend your competitors’ services when it would benefit your clients. Your clients will appreciate the help, which makes it more likely they will continue to work with you on other things. And if the competition hears you’re recommending them for some things, they may return the favor.
  4. Collaborate, when possible: There may not be many opportunities for you to reach out and work with your competition directly, but when the opportunities do arise, take advantage of them. For example, if both you and a competitor use blogs to create a buzz and bring in clients, consider exchanging blog posts that each link back to the author’s website. And if you’re on social networking, engage your competition in conversation when you have industry-relevant points of discussion that would interest your followers.
Categories
Online Business

Why B2B Firms Need an Online Presence?

Article Contributed by Dave Mathews

Whether it’s B2B or B2C, you do business with humans having specific social circle. Since, social circles are growing online, you must have to upgrade your plans and strategies in order to better achieve your objectives. By first quarter of 2012, 41% of B2B companies on Facebook report successful lead generation while the conversion rate on Linkedin is way too high than Facebook and Twitter together. For instance IBM alone reported 400% increase in sales due to social selling!

Well, it’s not just about generating leads for which B2B firms must be actively using social media, instead there’s a series of benefits.

Benefits of Social Media for B2B Firms besides Lead Generation:

Branding: If you’re a brand you set your price, and if you’re not, the one who makes cheaper wins the game! For B2B firms, branding is the most important area to work on and nothing other than Social Media can have maximum outreach as well as cost effectiveness. Do check how branding works in Social Media age!

Reputation Management: It’s so closely related to branding that without effective reputation monitoring and management you cannot build a brand. According to stats, a single negative feedback about a business over social media costs 30 customers. Being a B2B firm, you’d certainly not want to lose a single so you must start monitoring your reputation online using Social Media. Find detailed notes on Reputation Management through Social Media at Social Media Influence and Slideshare.

Market Research: The key to build a brand is either to make people happy or else to take them away from pain. In order to know the pain and to bring happiness, you must listen to them first, that what is Market Research for B2B firms. There’s no better way than Social Media to listen to real time problems, so explore related communities. Methodologies may vary depending on the niche, but do consider the basics of market research using social media here and here!

Extended Market Segments: With available tools that can target audience based on geographic location, interests, beliefs, academic qualifications, organizations they work in and lot more, you get the chance to target a bigger market segment.

Talent Acquisition: When it comes to prepare products/services and market them to a business audience, you need the best talent in your teams. LinkedIn.com better serves the purpose; however, knowing about effective use of Social Media for recruitment will be great. 

Public Relations: Staying connected to industry is the key to progress, and Social Media makes it as easiest as possible. Having industry bloggers in circle and staying active in relevant communities lets you use their PR and get known to their subscribers. Here’s a useful guide for getting noticed by industry influencers.

Traffic through Search Engines: An effective Social Media strategy provides links to your website and as a result you get target audience landing on your site. Make sure that you use EzineArticles.com, HubPages.com, Step by Step etc well by creating content related to your industry for better click through.

B2Bs can have more benefits depending on objectives and industry, however, a effective Social Media strategy is required.

What’s your B2B Social Media Strategy? 

About the Author

This post is contributed by Dave Mathews, looking after PR activities of Stepbystep.com. Public Relations and Social Media Marketing are Dave’s areas of expertise.