Over the years I have visited many entrepreneurs and business owners. Have you ever thought why it is that one business can do so well and another is so mediocre when they are both in the same line of business? Well one insight that I want to share with you as to why this may be the case is to do with the psychology of you, the business owner.

How true it is that if you think big then chances are you will make it big…conversely if you think small then chances are you will remain small. Similarly if you think your business won’t succeed then you are likely to fail and your business will fail. On another level it is interesting that if you don’t value yourself and your business highly enough then you will undercharge for your products and/or services. This may be OK in the short term but it will mean that you will have to sell more products/services to make the same level of profit to your competitor that is charging a higher premium. In addition, the psychology of the customer often says well if that company is charging X and that other one is charging Y, then X’s product/service must be inferior to Y’s. Therefore I will buy Y’s. So not only are you selling less because your pricing is less but your margins are also lower. Plus in the long term when you wake up and realise that you need to raise your prices in order to survive your client base wont accept the huge price rise that you need to make in order to put you on a par with your competitor that started off charging higher and has been able to make small regular price increases along the way without alienating his client base.

So be bold, think big, think confidence, think value – your value and that of your product and service if you want to give your business a better chance of success!

About the author: Paul Stanford http://www.paulstanford.co.uk/blog has provided practical advice to hundreds of entrepreneurs for the past 5 years helping them to successfully start-up, transform and sell their businesses. Get in touch to see how his business http://www.4momentum.co.uk can help do the same for you. You have full permission to reprint this article provided this box is kept unchanged.

Copyright 2009 Paul Stanford

I’m a firm believer in delivering excellent customer service and the benefits that it brings to business. We are always hearing about how to improve customer service so I thought instead I would give you a couple of recent examples that happened to me of how to deliver poor customer service….
1. I was in a call centre doing some NVQ assessing for customer service…. Client calls in…agent answers…very irate and says I have been waiting for 15 minutes trying to get you to answer….to which the agent replies well wait another 15 then…and promptly puts the phone down!
2. I go to open a new savings account…I take the easy route and apply online. Half way through the website replies “we are sorry we can’t progress your request – please call our call centre”. So I phone the call centre. First question…what is your account number? I dont know I didnt get that far with the application. Reply – well without your account number I cant help you! I reply well cant you find my details from my name and address? Agent sighs and says OK hang on I will try but you are not making it easy for me! Agent finds my application and says we need to have details of all your earnings and savings. I ask why as I am applying for a cash ISA. Agent replies we need the information to proceed. I again enquire why and get the same stock answer. I tell the agent look this is too stressful so cancel my application. Agent says fine and thanks for wasting my time! I immediately apply online with another provider. Everything goes through like clockwork and I dont have to supply any income or savings details!

Well hopefully these will have been a bit of fun. But there is clearly a serious side and I am sure I can guess how you would like to be treated.

About the author: Paul Stanford http://www.paulstanford/blog has provided practical advice to hundreds of entrepreneurs for the past 5 years helping them to successfully start-up, transform and sell their businesses. Get in touch to see how his business http://www.4momentum.co.uk can help do the same for you. You have full permission to reprint this article provided this box is kept unchanged.

HBOS and Lloyds TSB have both today unveiled separate new packages of measures to help small businesses.

The two banks, which are due to fall under partial state ownership when their merger is completed early in the new year, say that the measures are aimed at easing the financial pressures that firms are facing in tough economic times.

Under the HBOS package, through its Bank of Scotland Commercial arm, the company is to guarantee the pricing of overdrafts to small businesses for 12 months from the date of arrangement of new loans and renewals.

It is also to launch a small business helpline early in the new year providing help and advice to customers. A downloadable guide to “managing your cashflow” will be available to all small businesses from the start of next week.

It has secured £250 million of funding from the European Investment Bank to provide lending at discounted rates to its small and medium-sized customers during the economic downturn.

It follows a similar package of guarantees announced by Royal Bank of Scotland.

But the banks deny that political pressure has forced them to announce the measures.

Adrian Grace, managing director of Bank of Scotland Commercial, said: “Bank of Scotland has been supporting and funding small businesses for over 300 years.

“We understand the financial pressures that they are facing during these difficult economic times. That is precisely why we have launched this package of measures – to provide both financial assistance and, equally importantly, some reassurance that the bank is committed to supporting small business throughout the UK.”

Lloyds TSB has promised to pass on any future interest rate cuts in full over the rest of this year and next, while pledging to avoid increases in charges unless there is a material change to a customer’s business.

It also pledged to improve the advice on offer to customers with 120 “expert guidance” seminars planned for across the country.

John Maltby, managing director of Lloyds TSB Commercial, said its new charter was designed to “inject much-needed business confidence”.

Yet in a conflicting message, Lloyds chief executive Eric Daniels warned today that the Government’s bank bailout could deter bank lending.

He said that the cost of the preference shares that banks are issuing to the Government and the continued strain in wholesale banking markets has reduced appetite among banks for new lending.

“I don’t believe that banks are going to quickly restore lending and help the economy because of the funding and capital issues,” he said.

“Banks will try and repay the Government as quickly as possible. And one of the ways to free up capital is to stop lending.”

About the author: Paul Stanford http://www.paulstanford.co.uk/blog  has provided practical advice to hundreds of entrepreneurs for the past 5 years helping them to successfully start-up, transform and sell their businesses. Get in touch to see how his business http://www.4momentum.co.uk can help do the same for you. You have full permission to reprint this article provided this box is kept unchanged.

Copyright 2008 Paul Stanford

Your invitation – Save Money, Reduce your Carbon Footprint and Improve your Market Positioning – Complimentary ‘Green Advantage’ Workshop for Tourism businesses

Business Link is pleased to be working in conjunction with Tourism South East, the region’s tourist board, in delivering a series of ‘Green Advantage’ workshops.  In a period of financial uncertainty and a surge of interest in green issues and more sustainable good practice, the leading edge course enables you to take advantage of this growing market by revealing how you can make significant savings, improve your green credentials and market yourself accordingly.  Attendance on the course also qualifies you for credits towards the Green Tourism Business Scheme, Europe’s leading sustainable certification scheme for the tourism industry.

The workshop is FREE and runs from 10.30 for coffee with the workshop commencing at 10.45 concluding at 3.15pm.

Complimentary lunch will also be served from 12.45 – 1.15pm.

Throughout the workshop it will cover how to:

Ø      Save money – reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink

Ø      Buy local – sourcing and promote other local produce and attractions

Ø      Create customer advantage and adding value to your customers’ experience and develop new ‘green’ products and services

Ø      Develop an environmental policy – get the best out of your whole team, make environmental choices and win from them

Ø      Communicate your green credentials and gain a marketing advantage by retain current and targeting new customers.

Ø      Stay ahead of the pack and capitalise on new business opportunities and boost your business’ performance

‘Green Advantage opened my eyes to the massive business advantage to be gained through tapping into the growing public interest in green issues’.

Be sure to reserve your space by calling 0845 600 9 006 or visit www.ruralbookings.co.uk

About the author: Paul Stanford http://www.paulstanford.co.uk/blog  has provided practical advice to hundreds of entrepreneurs for the past 5 years helping them to successfully start-up, transform and sell their businesses. Get in touch to see how his business http://www.4momentum.co.uk can help do the same for you. You have full permission to reprint this article provided this box is kept unchanged.

Copyright 2008 Paul Stanford

Just as a clever tagline can clinch the deal for a TV advertisement, the same way the right keywords are crucial for a good PPC campaign. The keywords can act as the foundation of your entire campaign. Strong keywords will help make your campaign a success but weak ones can lead to disastrous results.

For an apt keyword list, make sure you do all the necessary research beforehand. Dig deep; search every nook and cranny until you hit upon effective keywords that will expand your keyword list.

To help you understand the keyword concept here is an example. Our base keyword will be “Real Estate.”

Because of high commissions “Real Estate” is a very saturated word on the Internet.

The first thing to do is create your first list. Think of all the alternatives that your prospective clients could use to interpret the base word. Now for the word real estate, people can use words like real property, investment property etc. these words are still very similar to the base keyword therefore you should continue the search.

Next you will need to enlarge your search into different niches or types of real estate. Some examples include; boarding houses, commercial real estate etc. After this you will be able to mix your new keywords with your initial ones and get some completely new keywords.

Real estate company names can form the basis of a separate campaign. Add .com to your regional extension. Do not worry if it is a domain that is nonexistent, searchers sometimes experiment with these types of keywords and you will get the chance to get some of these clients at a lower cost.

Try not to use general keywords; a better idea is to use keywords that specifically target your own niche market. Put yourself in your potential buyer’s shoes to discover the keywords that they use.

Here are some points to note:

- .com, .net etc. can be added to your keyword.

- You can capture visitors with company and domain names.

- Try adding superlatives to your base word like best, cheap etc.

- Find keywords from your web log files. Use keywords that your visitors have used to find your website.

- You can glance over the copy on your competitor’s site.

A good tactic is to make different lists for different categories of keywords, plurals in one, typos in another. If you do this you will be able to pinpoint your potential customers better.

Using the points in this article you can build formidable lists of keywords. With these strong keywords you can build winning campaigns, and nothing will stand in the way of your success. Wishing you prosperity!

Mobile phone marketing, otherwise known as SMS marketing, is the present evolution of direct promotion. Direct promotion has always been supported by companies as a personalized and focused way of reaching potential consumers and, with the advent of cell phones, SMS marketing has increased in usage. Mobile marketing is perhaps best defined as the practice of advertising products and services using digital distribution channels to reach customers in a fast, relevant, personalized and economic manner.

The most well-known form of mobile marketing is SMS marketing, which has expanded rapidly in Europe and Asia. It is estimated that several hundred million promotional messages are sent via SMS every month in Europe alone. SMS stands for ’short message service’ and is a communication form specific to cell phones where a short message can be quickly sent to any mobile owner. As well as sending material to consumers, marketers can often encourage consumers to join in promotional and brand publicity campaigns by encouraging consumers to SMS a selected number at an event in order to enter a competition, to receive a gift or to have their message displayed on a multimedia wall at an event. All of these techniques engages the consumer through the medium of SMS and creates brand awareness.

There are a variety of other examples of digital marketing. One variation is sending messages via MMS, which is a multimedia version of SMS, allowing customers to receive texts with color, pictures and video. There is also mobile web marketing, where businesses advertise marketing aims through websites accessed by mobiles. Publicists often make innovative use of digital marketing such as location-based services where customers are offered tailored promotions and other network-related information and promotional material based on their whereabouts. With the variety of methods and options available to marketers, it is no wonder that a recent marketing survey found that 89% of major brands planned to promote their products through digital marketing by the end of 2008.

Mobile marketing is an example of what is known within the industry as “push” marketing. The idea behind push marketing is that that the marketer has to send (push) the information to the customer in order for the information to be received. This is different to “pull” marketing, a passive form of promotion, where it is users who seek out the information from sources such as websites or blogs.

There are several advantages to digital marketing. Primarily, the attraction is that this method of promotion can be tailored to the consumer. This is the ideal in marketing as it means getting the campaign specifically to the group it’s aimed at, rather than squandering money on an unfocussed campaign. The specificity allowed by this type of promotions, which results in a more cost-effective campaign, is one example why a high return on investment is possible with digital marketing. Another advantage of digital marketing is the detailed tracking and reporting of users it permits. Through this medium, promoters can track how many customers viewed their material and also access detailed data about each subscriber such as their name, their age, their demographic and where they’re located. This permits a business to raise profiles of their users; data which then guides future promotional campaigns and, ideally, their success.

It is noted in the industry that push marketing, of which digital marketing is a type, can help drive new cash flows and brand exposure if it is executed correctly and sensitively. This is because it makes consumers aware of new developments that they may not know to enquire about already and the way a message is written, and even the fact that the material is being delivered by a contemporary, hip medium such as text, can say a great deal about a brand and a company.

There are, however, some disadvantages to mobile marketing. Inherently, it needs a mechanism – the mobile – to be able to send content. The business, as well, needs to make use of specific equipment and applications in order to send the content to subscribers, which can mean considerable outlay. Another downside is the fact that mobile marketing is heavily regulated by the telecommunications industry in response to customer concerns about what data and advertising they get shown. Most Western nations have laws in place that compel marketers to get the consent of subscribers before advertising information is received by them and must clearly give them with an ‘opt out’ clause if they request to stop receiving content. If businesses are found to be in violation of these laws, network providers can block marketing information by marketers.

As mobile technology improves, digital marketing will certainly continue to increase in relevance.

When you understand your visitors, the problems they have, and how they want to solve them, you are on your way to having a successful marketing plan for an online business. But even more important is understanding the steps your prospects go through before they actually buy from you. After all, it’s the money from the sales that we are all seeking.

This plan I’m going to reveal to you covers everything from the very first stages of your visitor’s thoughts all the way through checkout making sure you know how to create a seamless buying process for your future customers.

Step 1: Recognizing what your prospects want or need

The buying process always starts with acknowledging a specific need or want that your prospect has. Whether they have a problem and need a solution or it’s just some frivoulous desire, your customer will need to see a personal benefit before they are interested in your offer. They will most concerned it what’s in it for them.

With all the options and web sites that are online today, your prospect is in total control of what they want to buy and who they are going to buy it from.

As an online marketer, you need to create this desire for your prospects so they can relate to it. This will get them interested in getting more information about your offer and building a long-term relationship with you.

Step #2: Researching the Product or Service

A potential customer is now searching to see what products are out there to fulfill their need and who’s offering them.

They are looking for product features, pricing, and other options so they can match it to their needs.

This would be an opportune time to discuss what your product or service does and answer your prospects questions so you can direct them towards the right product for their particular situation.

Step 3: Refining and Evaluating.

Once a prospect completes their research, they start to narrow down their choices by eliminatin out the options that won’t work the best for them. They will consider the benefits and the merchants to make sure they know what they are buying and who they are buying it from.

Offering a bonus or incentive for buying the product from you. You can assure them that your company will provide them with great service if they even need any help. Any skepticism or lack of trust at this point can often turn your visitor away and they might go elsewhere.

Step 4: Reach Out.

This is one of the latest steps in the online buying process. It has become easier for people to interact with each other as your prospects are surfing the web and they want to take full advantage of this new option.

They’re going online and asking others about their experience with a certain product, service or business before they ever make any purchase. The better the word your product or company has out there, the more at ease your future customer will feel.

It has been determined that as much 80% of people who read online product reviews believe them over your own sales material. This will either secure your sale or eliminate it so make sure your company has a good reputation online.

Step 5: Resolution.

The prospect has narrowed their choice down to a specific product or service and decides what they are going to buy and who they are going to buy from. This doesn’t mean the deal is sealed though.

The customer has almost reached their final decision but still needs to feel confident about the security of their purchase. Place logos on your purchase page that give you credibility and let the buyer know that his or her transaction is secure on your website. This can often increase sales and help retain customers longer.

Step 6: Purchase- Order is Complete Now Give It to Me

After evaluating all their options, your prospect has now decided to choose your company for their needs. They are no longer a prospect; they are your own personal customer now which is every entrepreneur’s favorite person.

To show your appreciation, the next page should be a “Thank You” page. Also, it is a good idea to send them an personal email confirmation for their order, thanking them again, and reassuring them of all the awesome benefits they’re about to receive as well as the support you offer.

Step 7: Reconsider- Did I Really Make the Right Choice?

Time for every company’s worst enemy, buyer’s remorse. It’s when all the questions and doubt really hit your customer. But all they really need is assurance that they actually can get their money back if needed.

This is the time to show your customer that you really believe in your product by reviewing the benefits and offering a money-back guarantee. You need to reassure them of your comittment. They see it as a positive; if you’re willing to risk the sale, then the product must be worth it. You can reassure them that you are there to help should any questions or concerns arise.

Be sure to review each step thoroughly so your visitor’s buying process is very easy for them. Make it enjoyable and they will return again and again!

Can you believe that your customers can increase by 1400%? Get a phone word and see for yourself.

Hm What are phonewords? And do they make money? Oh. Yes. They do. But know what phone words are first. Phone words are the alphanumeric equivalent of a numeric telephone number. Phone words are made up from the various letters of the alphabet that correspond to particular numbers on a telephone keypad. These letters can form a word, a partial word, an acronym, abbreviation, or an alphanumeric combination.

Let’s step back a little. What the top priorities of business? They want a top of the mind recall for a product or a service. E.g. Burgers McDonalds wants people like you and me to remember it the moment we think of burgers. How cool will it be if 1800 BURGER rings in McDonalds? That solves two problems. The first is remembering the number. The moment you remember “BURGER,” you want to dial 1800 BURGER much better than 1800 345543 or some such number.

The other problem is of “association”. The combination 1800 BURGER has associated Burger and McDonald’s. So it also increases the brand association that is required by your business, by many folds.

Let us tell you about some other advantages now. When you buy a phone word, you become the exclusive owner of that particular phone word in the entire country. You can have customers from a single postcode, multiple postcodes, an entire city or even the whole country. You select a territory and all calls coming from there are put through to your existing telephone line. The online business also finds it useful, as their huge geographical reach doesn’t get wasted since you service only a small area.

Phone words communicate what you do in a punchy and economical way. When you say 1800 BURGER, they know what you do. You don’t have to explain anything. They KNOW it. But the crispiness that comes with it is fascinating. Somehow, with so few words, it conveys about quality.

Not just that, Phone words are an easy way of projecting your business as being bigger and more professional than your competition. Add to that, a phone word is an easy way for you to enable word of mouth marketing. 1800 PENCIL or 1800 RENTAL is easy to convey and easy to remember.

Many businesses find it difficult to get the recall for their product or services. Phone words are indeed a simple and interesting way to remember it. And the best part is that you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars in creating ad campaigns and burning all your profits in billboards etc.

When people do remember you, they are more likely to call you than any one else. Phone words increase “stickiness” of your product or service and can save and make lot of money for you. Every new call that a phone word brings you increases your profits, utilization of your assets, your people and does many more things to contribute to your business. Research has shown that a phoneword can increase your lead generation by 14 times. That means getting 14 times more customers than you have right now. What are you waiting for? Get a phoneword now!

Business to business telemarketing can be a challenging profession. It takes specific skills to be able to close sales over the phone and to relate to customers in a way that instills confidence. Top telesales people often use the same techniques to be successful.

Many telesales people are looking for ways to increase their conversions, subscriptions, or other sales goals. If you are one of them you can use the common tactics of top telesales people to increase your telesales success. Before you make your next call, review this list of top telesales preparations.

The first thing successful telesales people do before a call is review their script or call plan. Even if you are not using a conventional script, top telesales people go over what they are going to say and how they will respond to questions before they make the call.

The next thing you should do before the call is to think about your target market’s point of view. Successful telesales people appeal to the way their customers think by relating to their customer’s specific demographic.

Before you make a call you should also analyze your customer’s needs. Knowing what products or services your customer is likely to need will help you to suggest the best solutions for them.

Before you make a call record the date, client or customer name, and any other pertinent information that will make it easier to keep track of the call. Recording times, dates, what was discussed and follow up plans will make it easier to manage your many customer accounts.

It is also a good idea to review your goal before you make a call. Remind yourself what you want to do during the call, whether it is closing a sale, getting more information, or setting up an appointment, so that you will be more likely to meet your goal.

Something that you should do before making any calls after you make changes to your script or call technique s to test your new sales script or dialogue technique. Make sure your new way of communicating will be effective with a test call before you contact customers.

There are many things you should do before making calls to ensure that you will have the most success. Business to business telemarketing can be challenging, but if you remember these tips of top telesales people you will find greater success with your calls. Before you make any calls be sure to review these important steps.

Sales training is the act of developing a agent in the act of sales. Sales, which can be done individually or as part of a team, is where a person sells a goods or service to a buyer. It is often believed that selling is the same as marketing but there is a distinct difference – marketing exists to advocate a product by making it of use to a prospective customer and, through this, may inactively generate a sale. On the other hand, a sales agent actively speaks with a prospective customer, demonstrating directly how their product or service can assist the customer by offering them detailed information. The best sales team is someone who works together with their customer and acts to meet the client’s wants and goals with the goods or service to be sold.

Sales is an important part of contemporary work models. Not only does the sales agent sell a company item or service, they also labor to generate new business prospects and generate buyers for their business, thereby sustaining and growing their company’s client base and reputation. Sales is often the community face of a company so it necessary that correct new business development training is provided to the sales agent so that they can do well in their selling role but also know how to be the best promoter possible for the goods and the corporation.

There is a plethora of approaches a corporation can use to connect with their client. Direct sales – where the company interacts directly with their client – is probably the most familiar. The most well-known direct selling approaches are door-to-door selling and telemarketing; in both cases the corporation directly connects with the buyer at home or at their place of business to tell them about the goods. Another form of direct selling is ‘consultative selling’ whereby the company interacts directly with the buyer but initially starts by consulting the client about what merchandise or services they need and developing answers in collaboration with the buyer. Companies also traditionally sell merchandise through retailers – so called ‘middle men’ – and through mail order, while the rise of the web has given companies a new medium in which to deal with potential buyers. As can be seen, there is a large variety in the way companies contact, connect and potentially sell to a buyer, which has increased the necessity of sales training.

Sales training concentrates on the range of methods a sales agent can use when directly dealing with the customer, so important in these days of direct selling. Although there are a range of particular approaches tailored for different ways of selling, the main thought behind exceptional sales practice is five-fold: analyze a client’s needs, offer solutions to the buyer, discuss the benefits of the goods, overcome any questions the buyer may have and close the sale. This practice can sometimes be condensed to a three-part methodology: discover the customer, present to the customer and finish the sale.

Sales development courses are extensively available with many training schools and specialist businesses offering courses that you can take in person or via correspondence or the internet. Many large businesses have also developed their own in-house sales training programs. There are also a plethora of books available on the topic.

Exceptional sales development will always stress the need to ask customers questions in order to better provide them solutions, will always stress the importance of understanding your product and will include motivational material, as selling is a high-pressure occupation that not only needs a lot of self-motivation but also deals with a lot of rejection as well.

Incentive programs, what they’re for and how to use them are also included in a lot of sales development. These ’sales incentive programs’ or SIP’s, are a method used to encourage a sales agent and sets out specific goals for achievement, which aims to concentrate selling activity.

Sales development will show you self-motivation, focus and great communication skills and, as such, would stand any person in good stead for any managerial role outside of sales, as well as within.