Pursuit-of-happyness

Managing Change and Negative Repercussions

admin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:28:45 +0000

For the leaders of change activity, it will inevitably be necessary to deal with barriers, conflicts, resistance, and other negative effects. There is a tendency to see these as ‘disasters’ that will cause the change to fail. But by adopting a thoughtful and professional approach, most of the mistakes, barriers, and difficulties that change brings, can be overcome. Some negative repercussions will be inevitable: It will help, at the outset, to prepare yourself for the certainty that you will have made some misjudgements in your planning of the change. Also, despite careful analysis of the likely repercussions of the change, it is not possible to accurately forecast all of these, nor the degree of impact. This means that you acknowledge that you intend to succeed despite the setbacks caused by mistakes that are made, and forecasts that prove to be inaccurate in places. In short, you are allowing yourself to have some weaknesses. Unless you and your leadership team colleagues are blessed with genius, you are highly unlikely to introduce major change without running into some unexpected, or more serious than expected, difficulties.

Forecasts will have flaws: Even if you have researched and analysed as carefully as possible, when you draw up your plans for change you will be basing your planned changes against a background of forecasts. These could include forecasting the behaviour of a wide range of diverse factors such as customer behaviour, supplier behaviour, the reaction of internal individuals and teams to the changes, the impact on motivation and morale of staff, the impact on costs, selling prices, image, the brand, staff turnover, recruitment, and so on. Because of the unpredictability of many of these factors, whilst you must have a plan, expect to make frequent changes to the plan once it is implemented. Predicting exact timescales, costs, and effects, is impossible. Experience suggests that change will often take longer, be more complex, and cost more than planned. As the change progresses, review the situation, consult with your team and other stakeholders, and be prepared to adjust your original plans.

Stress levels will rise: The leaders of the change activity may well experience increased stress, as they observe and respond to the effects of the changes. The more radical or more complex the change, the higher the pressure will rise, as the organisation is forced to move away from its previous condition and culture. However, for local managers and operational staff, the effect of certain changes can be dramatic, especially where the change brings initially negative effects such as redundancies, relocation, or major reorganisation. At these hierarchically lower levels the stress brought on by the impact of the changes can be severe. You will need to be prepared for this and have plans in place to deal with it. One essential action is to ensure that local managers are fully briefed on the changes and equipped to respond to the concerns, fears, and reactions, of their teams.

Resistance is normal: It is almost impossible to make major changes without generating resistance from some of those affected by the changes. The degree, or severity of resistance will vary, not simply due to the nature of the changes, but also because of the inbuilt fears and concerns of some individuals and groups. Much resistance is caused by the poor quality of pre-change communications, where the change makers have failed to consult and inform effectively. Further resistance can be triggered because of a range of fears over: not believing that the change is necessary, the possibility of losing status, losing income, losing friends and colleagues, losing or gaining responsibility, losing comfortable working conditions, and many similar concerns. Critics will voice concerns: Even if you have consulted and involved key stakeholders, critics and cynics will challenge you. They will be strongest not at the beginning but in the middle of your efforts, when the possible effects of the change become clearer. This is when, with the help of others, you need to respond firmly to criticism, remove obstacles, and move forward.

The unexpected will happen: Be prepared to face unexpected events. It is not possible to predict every single consequence of change. You will almost always be faced with consequences that neither you nor the team anticipated. Don’t let these stop you. Be prepared to respond, deal with them, and make adjustments. Progress will falter: Inevitably there will be times when the pace of change slows, perhaps because of tiredness, perhaps due to external influences. This is normal, but you will need to manage these times carefully, aiming to get back to the expected level of progress as soon as possible. Communication between managers and specialists at all levels must be frequent, to ensure that the leaders of the change are aware of fluctuations in the pace of progress, and to enable them to take appropriate corrective action.

As a leader you will have to manage the negative repercussions that the changes generate. The following points give an overview of how best to reduce the likelihood of negative repercussions and then manage any that do arise. Preparation and planning is essential: Whilst it is true that it is almost impossible to introduce changes without some negative repercussions, thorough preparation and planning will help to keep these to a minimum, and enable those that do arise to be managed effectively. The effects of change on people, the managers, operational staff, customers, clients, partners, and other stakeholders, are well documented, and this body of knowledge can help the planners to predict at least the reactions of most of the people affected by the change. Pre-implementation activities, such as a process of consultation and awareness building, should be built into the change plans. Responses to potential post-implementation impact should also be drawn up as part of the planning process. Managers and other key personnel should be fully briefed on this part of the plan, and made aware that it is as important as any other part.

Monitoring and control will be needed: One of the key features of an effective change plan is a rigorous, consistently applied, monitoring and control procedure. This ensures that all deviations from the original plan are identified, analysed, and where necessary, corrective action is taken. There is no shame in having to change plans and readjust forecasts. There are infinite numbers of fast-changing internal and external influences that impact on the planned change from the moment it is implemented, and these must be recognised, analysed and responded to appropriately.

Resistance and criticism must be dealt with: As part of the monitoring and control process, resistance and criticism should be dealt with. The nature of your response will depend on the type and degree of resistance or criticism. Where it is evident that resistance or criticism is genuine and reflects understandable concerns or fears, then a sympathetic approach is required. Often, further explanation of the reasons for the changes and reassurance of better conditions to come, will be sufficient. Where the resistance or criticism is driven by the desire to cause disruption or damage, this must be dealt with firmly and fairly, but in a way which eliminates it entirely. Again, there is a huge body of knowledge to draw on which the local managers should be aware of and make use of.

Seek out positive benefits of the change: As a counter to the negative response that some might feel, find and show evidence of improvements and benefits (there has to be some if your change was necessary!) for example increased security, better working conditions, improved revenues, lower costs, more progression opportunities, reduced staff turnover, higher levels of customer satisfaction, and so on. Providing hard evidence of positive outcomes of the change is the most persuasive response to negativity and cynicism.

Don’t let resistance, mistakes, and conflicts slow you down: When recovering from a negative repercussion there is a tendency to over-react to the issue, to over-compensate for the mistake or error. This is unnecessary and can often lead to greater complications. It is important to put right only what has gone wrong and then move on with the next part of the process. In trying too hard to repair a mistake you will make it more memorable and noteworthy than necessary.

Focus on the future: Focusing on the negative repercussions instead of the moving the change forward is counter-productive. Focus instead on repairing the damage and continue working towards the original goal. Dwelling on setbacks, mistakes, errors, and conflicts gives them more significance than the real objective – deal with them, then move on.

How to Get a Small Business Loan

admin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:14:55 +0000

Getting a small business loan is one way to start a venture or to expand your own established company, as this can be used in your business’ start-up costs, daily operations and monthly expenses. However, applying for a small business loan with banks, your family and friends, personal investors or other credit and finance institutions is not easy nowadays, since you have to assure your lender that you can pay in full as well as on time.
The best way to increase the chance of your loan to be approved is to prove that you are worth the investment. Proving that you are qualified for the amount that you are about to borrow will need careful preparation, which will definitely include documents such as credit histories, a professional loan proposal and a well-detailed business plan. You must also justify to your lender why you need the money and your confidence that your business will be profitable.
Below are guides that will help you obtain a small business loan.
Step 1:
The most important requirement that you will use in applying for a small business loan is your personal credit history. Having a clean credit history will be a good start for your lender to see once they have reviewed your loan application, for this may imply that you are creditworthy and capable of repaying the loan. But before applying for a loan, be sure that you know what is on your credit report. Credit reports are provided for free by these following companies: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. You must also know your credit score, since some lenders have different minimum credit scores required. This is also important because this will show the type of credit you have and the length of your credit history, as well as your payment history.
Step 2:
Write a solid and detailed business plan. This is required once you apply for a small business loan, so you better prepare it precisely since this is the basis of your business loan. It is also important to specify in full detail how your business will be profitable. Your business plan must also include statements such as your own professional biography, market analysis, and description of your business assets, business worth and business projections.
Step 3:
Make a professional loan proposal that is formal yet written in a persuasive manner. You can also ask your lender for their preferred loan proposal format, which will definitely include a cover letter or an executive summary. Your professional loan proposal may also include a business description, wherein it contains relevant information such as the history of your business, its location, target market, current activities, legalities, and the type of products or services that your business provides. Other important details that are essential to be included in your professional loan proposal include the following statements:

Financial statements
Cash flow statements with realistic estimated profits
A loan request which explains how much money the business needs to start operating
Collateral of assets that will secure the business loan
Repayment plans that emphasize the process of how and when the loan will be paid

It is also best that you know what type of loan will go well with your small business before writing your loan proposal, for there are several types of loan plans such as Micro-loans, SBA loans, Lines of Credit and Development Financing. It will be much easier for you to repay if you research the policies and requirements for each type of loan.
Step 4:
Choosing your lender will be the easiest part. This is the part where you will need to present everything you have prepared. First off, it is best to apply for a business loan with banks and credit institutions that you already have done business with or have an existing account with a good record. Then you can also apply with other banks and credit institutions so that you can choose who has the best offer.
Once your small business loan is approved, you should build a good relationship with your lender through constant communication. You can also show appreciation by providing results and monthly progress reports. And if in case your loan was not approved, you can always find other ways to finance your small business, like government grants or private investors. Your prepared materials will still be of use, and you may also improve them as well.

Social Networks Help Support Your Home Businesses

admin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:14:38 +0000

Social business networks can help you have a successful work at home business. Advertising is a key factor in Internet marketing. Email advertising and search engine advertising are considered more effective advertising. Social networks are very popular high traffic sites on the Internet. Social business networks help you combine email, classified and forum advertising with social networks. You can also manage your advertising, groups, forums and social network all in one helpful convenient place. Home business directories are also good places to advertise your products and services.

With social business networks you are also helping to further the interests of other homeworkers. You are helping to support home businesses, homeworkers, the Internet and thereby contributing to your own future success. When you buy products and services from other homeworkers you are investing in the future of the Internet and the spirit of home entrepreneurship. You can work at home and you can help and inspire others to do the same. With social business networks you have a large online marketplace to help you promote your products and services. You can join many groups and forums. You can place classified advertisements. You can add members to your contacts. You have your own work at home business centers in these social business networks. Home Business Directories also help home entrepreneurs promote their products and services. Home entrepreneurs can have free listings in many Home Business Directories. People can promote their affiliates, party plan products and home businesses. Home business directories have free directory listings, free classifieds and forums. You can shop at the social business networks and home business directories. You can find great discounts and unusual bargains there. You can shop for custom made and personalized gifts and unique handmade gifts. There are many creative products and services there. Shopping at social business networks and home business directories helps to support other homeworkers. You can earn while you learn more about this aspect of being a home entrepreneur.You can earn money online advertising your home business with Business Social Networks. You can earn money working with ApSense, Sales Spider and Shopping With Moms. You can promote your home business and earn money. Membership is free. ApSense members earn points using the ApSense Express. Sales Spider offers members free leads. ApSense helps you have your own business social network. With ApSense you can build a large social network for your business fast. You can combine social networking, business and marketing. ApSense provides the ApSense Express which helps you communicate with your network. You can also view messages and posts from other members. You earn points for every 15 minutes of using the ApSense Express. You can broadcast messages directly to thousands of desktops free. You can earn residual monthly income with the free ApSense affiliate. With ApSense you have your own ApSense Business Center. You can also start your own network at Sales Spider. You earn money for referrals and with Google revenue sharing. Sales Spider provides free leads, free classifieds, job posting and networking. You can join groups, add members to your contacts and promote your home business. WAHM Home Business Directories Promoting your home business is easy with Home Business Directories. You can buy and sell products at these WAHM Home Business Directories. www.DirectSalesMoms.com/www.DirectSalesMoms.com/shopping_directorywww.HolisticWAHMDirectory.com/www.PartyPlanMoms.com/Lifetime Placement In Directory, State Directorywww.USAWAHM.com/www.TheWAHMConnection.com/www.WAHMsEvents.com/www.WAHMZone.com/Free Advertising Banner, Link And Traffic Exchange, Earn Cash And Credits, Forum, Free Membershipwww.ShoppingWithMoms.com ApSense Social Business Networkwww.ApSense.com/ Sales Spider Social Business Networkwww.SaleSpider.com/

Cheap Business Loans?

admin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:00:02 +0000

When most entrepreneurs begin the process of seeking a business loan, one of the first concerns that occupy their thoughts is the price of the loan

The Downsides Of A Small Business Loan

admin — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 12:31:41 +0000

In our economy, small business is often praised as the savior of a stagnant market; the result of hard-working, innovative, bold individuals seeking to share a good idea with the world and make some money in the process. The field of small business start-ups is a tricky one, fraught with risk and pitfalls, only adding to the esteem that is often given to those who pursue such endeavors.
One tool that many use to assist in getting their small-market idea off the ground is filing for a small business loan, whether at their trusted local bank or by petitioning federal entities dedicated to distributing such funds, such as the United States Small Business Administration, or simply SBA. While obtaining this sort of loan may make sense, to raise capital quickly in exchange for being able to pay back over time, it actually comes with a few drawbacks.
Learning Curve
Unless the applicant has taken a business course or done the proper research, applying for a business loan is no easy endeavor. Typically a founder must turn in a business plan to convince the loan officer that the idea is legitimate. The more data the better, but it can be difficult for a layman to conjure balance sheets, marketing mixes, exit strategies, or other factors of an exceptional documentation. Even with these elements involved, landing a loan is never a sure thing, and any business acumen is an asset, which most people lack. A wonderful idea does not necessarily translate into a wonderful organizational tactic.
Entrepreneurial Stigma
Depending on the field and target market, filing for a small business loan and bring on, perhaps unfairly, a stigma in the market. After all, with so much dialogue about wasted spending and people relying on handouts, a loan can be seen as a preemptive bailout. In addition, it can cause problems for local networking, which is usually essential: Imagine the disdain the family restaurant down the street feels when the new kid on the block shows up with an expensive new promotional sign he bought with loan money.
Fiscal Liability
Perhaps the most compelling disadvantage is simply that a loan is a liability! From the moment the funds are granted, there is now a debt on the business’s books. It is also important to note that the loan, as with all loans, builds interest over time. This debt, and the interest, are two elements that may not have necessarily factored had the applicant instead vied for private means of raising capital.
Even with these reasons in mind, this does not mean that small business loans are terrible things. In fact, for many, they are exactly what their plan calls for. The important lesson is to remember to not simply assume that everyone needs a loan; often, a viable alternative is available to get a great idea out of development and into the profit zone.

Internet Business Opportunity – Online Business Opportunity

admin — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:52:43 +0000

Since a great deal of disciplines ca hardly make millionaires out of usual people, a lot of individuals end up with business. However, a large number styles of conventional company ventures require big amounts of cash as economic investment, therefore solely those who are wealthy already can make it most in business.
Wake up and odor the roses. Time has come that you can do something about it. Take cost of your life. i’m going to persuade you to rise up and turn out to be ready to begin a new life. This life you can handle and shape. One you are able to direct and guide, as you want. In addition, spend the remainder of the way you live in realizing some of the dreams. It is not either hopeless nor unreachable.
However, while using the progression of Web technology, a lot of home based Net company possibilities that are not as costly as those of traditional technique of business.

Related Coverage

Internet Business Opportunities – 4 Money-Making Online Business Opportunities

There is no doubt that you can really make thousands or even millions of dollars from the internet. Here are some of the money-making business opportunities that you might want to consider: Everybody who sets up an online business will need… Business Opportunity

The internet is awash with opportunities. From article marketing, affiliate marketing, to AdSense or advertising revenue generation schemes, there are a whole host of different online business opportunities. Internet Business Opportunities

Many people worldwide are now looking for internet business opportunities the benefit of working from home and the huge growth the internet has seen in the past few years have made this quite an attractive proposition. Before rushing and buying into the first internet business you come across you need to first do some groundwork. You will need to look at ways to market your internet business, the lifeblood of any online business is traffic without this your on the road to failure. Business Opportunities Online

If you want to get started working from home, there are many online business opportunities for you to try. The Internet has become a tremendous tool for consumers and information seekers. The internet has also provided an opportunity to countless aspiring entrepreneurs. Today you can start an online business selling products or providing services with limited initial capital and limited risk. Due to the nature of the internet, today the home based business owner can compete on a global stage unlike any other time in history.Via the internet success isn’t measured by the amount of your investment but by its quality. The main cause why there are profitable businessmen on the net is that they have efficient on line equipment and advertising and marketing systems. Examine on and find out what you have to study an The net company opportunity.
Don’t stall any further. Do not hinder and block your self off from the real alternative to creating the best company online. Begin seeking inside your self and master your own private individual trades to actually commence making money online.
Reputation
Before you enroll in any opportunity, make sure that they are when using the More advantageous Company Bureau, I-Cop or More effective The net Bureau and in good standing. You can find a great deal watchdog businesses over the internet that protect consumers.
Also look for the company name and the phrase

Ashmax Business Opportunity – Review

admin — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:31:09 +0000

Ash Mufareh, who was successful in the Global Domains International (GDI) business a number of years ago, has created a new network marketing business opportunity called Ashmax. Using this experience, he has created an opportunity that offers users two possible streams of income.
Many people are flocking to join the Ashmax opportunity as it offers users a nice source of income
Subscribers are able to market their opportunities to as many prospects as they would like. Mufareh has very cleverly amalgamated two businesses into one so that people are able to maximize their earning potential. Steps have been taken to simplify the task of earning income in a number of ways.
When you join, you will be given a website with videos, sales information and access to a back office to track the sales that team makes.

Related Coverage

Ashmax is NOT a business opportunity

Mr. Mufareh has used his extensive experience with GDI to create an opportunity for affiliates to now have 2 income sources when using the Ashmax system. No More AshMax Hype – Should I Join?

When AshMax launched in July of 2010, it had unparalleled interest from all over the globe. Now that the hype has died off, is it still worth trying to build your online business with it? I will share my thoughts and reasoning’s with you today. Lia Sophia Business Opportunity Review

A Lia Sophia business allows women to market jewelry and earn an income doing so. But will this business choice be right for you? A Great Idea But Greatest Fault With AshMax

The AshMax marketing tool was revolutionary when it started in July of 2010. It made online marketers work like crazy to get 5 recruits in 20 days or they were removed by the system. What a great idea to make people succeed or be forced out, or was it?Experienced network marketers will enjoy this and it helps new people to succeed a lot quicker than would have been the case. Many people find the automation really attractive as it helps to free up time to do other more fun things.
There is no cost to joining the Ashmax business opportunity, however in order to remain active you will be required to pay $25 per month.
Your goal will be to sign up 5 people within 20 days; if you cannot do this then you will not be permitted to participate in the program. This is a clever strategy as it removes those people who are not serious about doing any work.
One of the frustrations of this industry is signing people into the business who do not want to work.
It is these types of people who give the industry a bad name. The matrix is a 5×5 and you are permitted to sign more than 5 people if you choose to do so. It is possible to earn $22 000 per month once the matrix has been filled.
The emphasis is strongly on recruiting and the only reason for failure is not recruiting enough people. Of course it is important that you team recruit people as well. Season network marketing campaigners will love this business and newcomers should expect to go through a learning curve before experiencing success in the Ashmax opportunity.

Legitimate Home Business Opportunity

admin — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 16:35:29 +0000

If you consider starting your own home business, the best idea is to check for a legitimate home business opportunity. This aspect is very important especially that a legitimate business can help you to prevent any undesirable legal issues. If you are new to the internet marketing and you have just found an online opportunity that looks promising, you definitely need to check its legitimacy. This thing ensures two important aspects: the first one relates to the fact that you can also startup a legitimate home business and the second one helps you to avoid any possible scams.

Evaluating Home Business Opportunities

As we talk about online home business opportunities, the online research provides the most appropriate form of evaluation. However, in order to get some reliable results, you have to make sure that the research is properly done.

Related Coverage

Picking A Legitimate Home Business Opportunity

Working from home has become a dream that many people are realizing. Finding the legitimate home business opportunities is the most important thing in starting to work from home. Knowing what red flags to watch out for and where to get started are the best ways to be successful in your new home business. Legitimate Home Based Business Opportunity – There Are Legitimate Home based Business Opportunities

There are many ways to make money at home in a legitimate home based business opportunity. The reason why you have an interest in working from home will determine which path you may want to follow. Some corporate business have arrangements where they encourage employees to work from home while others can set you up as an independent contractor. Identifying A Legitimate Home Based Business Opportunity

Identifying a legitimate home based business opportunity is not easy. With thousands of “fly by night” type companies out there, it is becoming harder every day to find a legitimate home based business opportunity. I want you to know that there are legitimate home based business opportunities, you just need to know what to look for, and that is why I’m writing this article today. Tips On Finding A Legitimate Home Business Opportunity

When looking to work from home you will run into more scams than you can keep up with. Finding a legitimate home business opportunity is very important to be successful and make the money you need. Use these great tips to find that home business and live out your dream.Otherwise, you might consider as genuine a business which provides an illegitimate home business opportunity. The following lines present some suggestions that you might use while evaluating different online business opportunities.

This way, if you wish to verify the opportunity that is provided by a specific business, you can go to the search engine and start the evaluation by introducing the name of the business together with the word scam. However, you have to know that some scammers have immunized their systems against this formula. They have carefully created some systems that lead the researchers, who introduce the formula companys name scam, directly to their websites. This way, you cannot actually verify whether these companies are scams or not.

Alternative Solutions

If the aforementioned option does not provide clear information about a particular business, you can check for online reviews.
In order to do this, you should verify forums and customers comments. However, if you do not know how to avoid some simple traps, this research can also mislead you. This way, you might end up considering that a scam business is actually a genuine opportunity. So, in order to avoid this thing, you should carefully check the source of those reviews. In some situations, you will discover that the source of those reviews is exactly the website you wish to verify.

A good idea, which might help you to obtain reliable information about a specific business, is to find the websites that are specialized in checking businesses reliability. In addition, you can also verify if the business owns a license or certificate. In general, any of these two elements guarantee the legitimacy of businesses.

As well, in order to find a real home business opportunity, you should never rely on only a few comments. When you evaluate a business, you should check a few forums and read all the available comments. Only this way you can get a complete image about that business. If you are not able to find any comments about a specific company, none stops you to start a discussion thread. You might get many responses from people who have had different experiences with that particular business. Now, as you have just found out how to verify different businesses, you can easily find a legitimate home business opportunity and get the best out of it.

How to Increase Sales and Profits, Without Spending a Cent!

admin — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 02:08:46 +0000

Ever heard of something called “conversion rate”. You may have but are you measuring it all the time, or are you just guessing what it might be?

If you don’t know what conversion rate means you’re missing out on the most powerful strategy there is in the world to increase sales, without spending a cent. Plus, by increasing your conversion rate your net profits always go up!

So what is conversion rate?

Conversion rate is the difference between how many call, walk in or contact your business and then how many of them end up buying. For example, if you had 10 phone calls to your business and you took their name and phone over time you simply track how many of them actually spent money with you. So if you have 3 people buy from you your conversion rate would be 30% or 3 out of 10.

This simple measurement is life changing for business owners when they see the power of it. If you don’t know your conversion rate and “guess” it’s about 50% I guarantee you’re wrong! Almost everyone thinks their conversion rate it higher than it actually is. The reason being is that the people you talk to that say they’ll come back and buy later or that sound like they are very interested in buying often don’t. But you don’t know that if you don’t measure all inquiries because you assume they have bought.

When you measure your conversion rate be prepared for a shock. I’ve worked with retailers who thought it was 75% and found it was 38%. I’ve worked with service businesses that thought it was 50% and we found it to be 13%.

They get a bit depressed when they realise its only 13%, but I get excited! That’s because it’s impossible to double 50% conversion rate, but with 13% you can triple it and still have room for improvement!

Did you know that increasing your conversion rate proportionally increases turnover and net profit? That means if you increase your conversion rate by 50% (e.g. from 24% to 36%) you have just increased your turnover by 50% as well! That’s because you get 50% more paying customers than you have right now. And you can increase your conversion rate, turnover and profit without spending a cent on advertising or promotion.

So how do you measure it? First of all you need 2 to 3 bits of information on every person who contacts your business. Things like their name, phone number and what their inquiry was about.

This then gives you information to refer back; to see how many people actually ended up buying that contacted your business. With your business it may take days before you can tally inquiries to customers. For some service businesses you may need to wait a month from the inquiry date to purchase due to the time it takes people to make a decision.

You’ll notice your conversion rate will be different for each of your staff. Why is that? Good question. But when you realise the difference you can do something about it, but until you have measured it how can you do anything about it?

So now, onto the magic question, How To Improve Your Conversion Rate!

There are at least 80 ways! Want to know the best ones? Here they are…

1. Learn DISC profiles. DISC profiling has to be the most unknown method of understanding people there is, yet in business it’s the most powerful tool you can learn and use. DISC is an insight into 4 major differences in people’s behaviour. When you learn DISC profiles you understand some people want to be friends with the person they buy from, while others find friendly sales people annoying and don’t buy from them. Some people (about 50%) make all sales decisions very quickly, usually on the spot. While 50% of people always want to think about it, usually over a day or two. DISC is something I teach to all my clients and all who learn it from me increase their sales (turnover and profit) by 20%-300% in weeks!

2. Offer guarantees in writing. Everyone has some level of apprehension about parting with money, so a guarantee helps to overcome that apprehension and helps people to make confident decisions. What can you guarantee in writing that you have not be offering now? What about not to leave a mess if you’re in a service business? What about being completely happy with your purchase of you will gladly allow refunds? Retailers often don’t want to refund so they scare away dozens of potential customers for the sake of a very few possibly wanting refunds. (To learn more about DISC see the article ‘How to Build Rapport in 7 Seconds’ by Tim Stokes at www.ezinearticles.com)

3. Make your business appear unique. This again is a powerful tool as when you “appear” unique or different you stop losing sales to price shoppers. It’s not hard to do, in fact when you use guarantees like those above it makes you very unique!

4. Learn body language. Body language is responsible for 55% of what you communicate before you open your mouth! Everyone has heard of it but how many people use it? Almost none! Go read a book on it and try it. Body language is a form of flattery and people buy from people they like or relate to.

5. Try different words you use to greet people face to face or on the phone. Retailers are notorious for saying things that elicit “no thanks just looking”. That’s because they set up that response by what they say. Try saying different phrases on greeting and see what happens. Its the same on the phone, if you finish off your greeting with “name speaking” you often get people who think you’re a dummy and respond with, “I’d like to talk to someone about…” In other words you can’t help me so can you get me someone who can. Try not using speaking and see what happens.

Are you starting to get the picture there are dozens of ways you to improve what you’re doing now with your conversion rate? First you have to measure it, before you can improve it. Collate it over a day, then a week then a month. When you do you will have a powerful Key Performance Indicator.

Working with business owner’s conversion rates I have had dozens and dozens of fantastic profit improvements in weeks and months. My record is a blind manufacturing company that had a conversion rate of 3.5% and then 6 months later we took it to 75% and that was with a 35% increase in prices along the way! What percentage increase it that in profit? I don’t know, but it’s massive!

I did the same with a retailer. They had a conversion rate of 68% and using a sales system I wrote with them they hit 100% conversion rate the week we started using it. It never dropped under 82% again.

If you don’t increase your conversion rate your marketing will rarely make you a good profit return, or enough to pay for itself with profit from the sales from the promotion. When you double conversion rates you double your turnover and advertising responses, so you can run your ads half as much saving you profit as well.

I’ll leave you with this thought… You can’t improve something if you haven’t measured it. Measuring is the secret to all of your success in business.

Business Networking At Its Best

admin — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 08:31:35 +0000

Business networking is social networking for our business minded friends. This is an important system especially among entrepreneurs whether they are beginners or experts. Beginning a business is a tough matter and a serious one as well because you not only invest your money in it, but more significantly your time and your energy. Some beginning entrepreneurs upon starting their own businesses underestimate the complexity of the tasks they have to deal with so that even before they have successfully established a name for themselves, they don’t think twice at bailing out. On the other hand among experts, trouble comes from constant competition and the endless call for advancement. This is almost as if there is no safe spot in the world of commerce. Nonetheless, all can be well and good for entrepreneurs because support coming from the business community is achievable because of business networking.

Doing business is not a simple matter, that’s why it’s understandable for novices to find difficulties in having a secure spot in the field. This is contrary to experts who already earned tons of experiences to learn or deviate from. For the novice, there is no easy way to become an expert unless there are professionals who can teach you right away. For the experts, they could continue to progress by exchanging referrals with one another or by creating partnerships. Entrepreneurs have developed a way to make both of these conditions possible. Through business networking novices can have contact with the experts for support while experts have an effective way to communicate with others who could be possible clients or partners.

Business networking is already an established system in the world of commerce. There is different business networking groups in small business communities world-wide. More than doing business with other business minded individuals; personal relationships are also established in this network. During meetings, anything can be discussed from business plans to matters pertaining to accomplishment of company goals. Business networking brings businesses together giving way to better access to different businesses and more free-flowing communication lines among members. More than that, the best benefit that business networking groups have for its members is the ability to check on business marketing styles and strategies. Whatever is lacking in your business could be pointed out and problems could be remedied by your co-members. Business networking also already works online for businesses that are found on the internet.

Online businesses just won’t survive without the internet. But like any other business, a network of support is still of use. There could be hundred of business networking groups online, any business could start it; the problem rests on how to attract other businesses to join your own group. One effective means of doing this is to advertise the group online through a business networking website. Aside from making the process of joining a lot easier as websites can be the jump off point for a business to become a member, forums could also be discussed and a post could be made to introduce members to their co-members. The latter is an approved way for businesses to promote whatever product or service they offer not just for random visitors of the business networking website but also for co-members who could give you leads or avail of your services and products. A list of the members also makes it possible and easier for contacts, information, and communication. Still, through these online businesses networking groups business marketing techniques particular to online businesses are exchanged. Finally, because the power of the internet is huge, any business whether online or not can have for their business networking group a website which members can access for faster and easier ways to come together.

Building a group that has excellent members can be hard work so business networking groups rely much on their websites. However, attractive as they may seem, entrepreneurs interested in business networking must be critical in looking not just at websites but the benefits the group has for its members. The ABC Listing website contains names of its members in a categorized list depending on the type of products they sell or services the offer. This is aside from giving free memberships and a chance at winning amazing prizes.