“In Business” by Roland Millward

For many businesses there is a need to continually generate new leads. There are many ways this is done, advertising in the press, TV, Radio, Internet, billboards, mail shots, telephone calls and generating new business from old leads, existing clients and referrals. Leads are the lifeblood of business and when times are good the generation of leads tends to take care of itself. However we are now in a recession and every penny counts. Vast amounts of money that were once thrown at the standard forms of advertising hoping that some of it would work is now a luxury that most businesses can not afford. Some businesses of course have never had that luxury.

It now takes time and careful planning to see where you should be spending most of your advertising budget and how effective it is. Start with past clients or those leads that have not yet converted. Set aside time each day to phone and see how those clients are doing. What are their current needs? How can your business meet those needs in the current economic climate?

Businesses today that are offering great value (not necessarily the lowest prices), good service and go that extra mile will win business in these tougher times. Allocate a slot each day when you and your team will make those calls. If you are going to spend money on advertising use every trick in the book to make it effective. Get some expert advice and save wasting money. It is possible to get some free advertising if you know how!

Don’t forget per per click and here is some free software to help you use Google to the full. All you need is Firefox a free web browser (it’s better and safer than IE Explorer for all your needs) and you will really be able to use Google Adwords cost effectively.

One of the best sources of business has to be when you get referrals from your customers. Now often we wait until a customer recommends our service to someone and such recommendations are greatly appreciated. However that is leaving things to chance. Is there a way of increasing those recommendations?

The answer is ‘yes’.

You can ask your customers for referrals! How? Well simply put you could say, “so John which one of your work colleagues has been showing an interest in getting xxx..” You may well find that John has been talking about his future purchase and others too said they would like one. There is your referral.

For customers on your mailing list you could ask them to write down the names and address of 2 or 3 people that they feel would like to know about your product or service. You can then follow those people up with a letter saying that ‘John has said you would be interested in xxx and you are pleased to tell them that you can help’.

There are many ways you can get referrals so don’t delay and don’t leave it to chance. Build into your sales pitch and follow ups a referral system. Remember too that referrals are more likely to buy from you than people that respond to an advertisement.

Good copywriting is vital for you to succeed with your sales letters, advertisements, web pages, news releases etc.

Here is a formula that will help you develop your material into something that will really work.

We will use the AIDA principle.

A: Attention
You need to capture your customers attention. Don’t write about how good you are. Write about something that will solve your customers problem or fulfill a need.

I: Interest
Once you have their attention it would be a shame to lose it! Keep their interest by adding relevant material that follows your opening lines. Show how you will solve that problem of fulfill that need.

D: Desire
Create or arouse in your customer Desire. Give them a powerful reason to buy your product or service.

Action:
Make sure you tell your customer what they have to do now. How do they order?

By using AIDA it will help you focus on your customer not you or your business. Customers are not really interested that your business has been operating for 30 years. They want a product or service. How will you supply it? How long you have been established and other such points can be tucked under logos and so forth but there is no need to promote that overtly.

If a person is looking for a plumber because they have a burst pipe they want to see things like: Call us anytime 24 hours a day – 7 days a week. We guarantee to be with you in 2 hours! Emergency telephone helpline! These are things that will solve their problem.

Sit down and write with specific problems and solutions in mind and target customers accordingly. Remember AIDA and you will find your copywriting will be greatly improved.

When someone wants to start a business they will hear many reasons why they should not do so.
It’s a bad time to start in a recession!
You don’t have the expertise!
You are too young!
You are too old!
and so on and so on—–

Let’s think about the last two points. Too young or too old.

Age is no barrier to someone making a success in business. Many of today’s leading entrepreneurs started when they were just kids. Sir Richard Branson (Virgin) and Cameron Johnson readily come to mind. Others have started very successful businesses in what can be described as ‘retirement’.

Never let any one put you off your goals because of age! If you plan to succeed you will do so.

With millions of websites how can you make sure that yours is successful?

There are 3 principles that you need to follow to make your website work. We can remember these by using the letters A C C. What do these letters stand for?

A is for Attraction
Your website must be attractive to visitors. It must be easy to read and grab the viewers attention in 8 seconds. People that visit the web are by nature looking for information quickly and they need to see that your website will offer what they want in a few seconds. Make sure that is the case with your landing pages. If you are using per per click it is vital that the landing page responds directly to the search terms used and that the page they land on is the one that will provide the information searched for.

Your website is your shop window to the world and once inside your web pages it is your store / office. It needs to represent quality, trustworthiness, efficiency, value, service and all the other qualities that customers are looking for from a business.

C is for Conversion
It is one thing getting customers to your website and staying on it for a while. You now need to convert those visitors into customers.
It is a good policy to try and capture the details of as many visitors to your website as possible by using an online form via a company such as Aweber (this will be vital for the next stage). How do you capture these details? There are 2 ways: You could require everyone has to ‘log in’ to access your website. This method I would not recommend and you will lose more customers than you will gain. The best way is to have a sign up form for a FREE gift such as a FREE eBook or other promotional tool. Aweber will provide you the forms to do this. Here is an example from my website FromeMortgages.co.uk. Notice on the home page there is a drop down form that appears. It is set so that returning visitors will only see it after a space of 5 days between visits. On the left column there is a ‘sign up’ form that appears on all pages. I am only collecting names and email addresses but you can collect more information.

Once you have customers information what is the next step?

C is for Communication

It tis said that it can take around 7 contacts with a person before they become a customer. Good communication from you is vital to build the trust that a potential customer will feel before he buys. This is where email using an auto responder is vital. Then we must not forget the telephone and old fashioned mail.
When you keep in touch with customers it does not mean that each time you try to sell them something. In fact is far better that you don’t. Use your communications to keep them updated. You might tell them about a change on your website or maybe you are extending your stores opening hours or closing for a holiday. Give them information not hard sell. Build up trust for you and your business. Don’t bombard them with forms of communication so that they will begin to get weary. Vary the style and type and make it genuine. For instance if you have posted a brochure of free book then a follow up phone to ask if they have received it would be a good idea, but again on that phone call be brief and don’t push for a sale. This may seem strange for those hard nosed direct sales types but the softly softly approach works far better even if it seems to be a slower process for the impatient one.

So there is my brief of summary of ACC. Take a good look at your website and see how you can put ACC into practice.
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Some people are terrified of spiders! I think they are fascinating creatures and there is something we can learn from them when it comes to business.

One of the legends surrounding spiders is found in British history. It is the story of Robert the Bruce (b1274) who secured Scotland’s independence from England. It is said that on one occasion he was looking defeated he watched a spider trying to climb up one of its threads only to keep falling back when it nearly got to the top. Time and time again this spider tried until finally it got there. Robert the Bruce took this as a lesson not to give up and as a result he was successful in his aims.

Of course we can apply this lesson to many aspects of life and in business it is vital that when faced with problems we don’t give up but find ways to deal with the problems.

There are other lessons that we can learn from the spider. The spider works hard to build its web. We too need to work hard to build our business as there is “no easy button” quoting the entrepreneur Joel Comm. A web is made up of many fibers that when woven together becomes a strong net so that the spider can catch its flies. Our businesses need to be built with many elements that come together in an effective way in order to ‘catch’ our customers. It is good to constantly analyze our business model to make sure that we are providing our customers with what they want thus ensuring that the ‘woven web’ will catch them.

Next time you see a spider take a moment to reflect on this marvelous little creature and take a few lessons that you can use in your business.

With this recession beginning to take its toll now is the time to make sure that we really focus on our business and the services and goods that we provide.

The businesses that will survive will be very different from those that fail. This is not just in the sense of good financial management but in the way which they operate in the market place. Businesses that are middle of the road will certainly face severe problems. As a business owner / manager you will need to lift your business above mediocrity.

Your service and products will need to be the best – not the cheapest. The immediate reaction in a downturn is to simply cut prices. However cutting prices reduces profits and if a business makes a loss it is heading for disaster. Take a look at what you can do to improve service and sell products that people are willing to pay a fair price for without cutting into profits. Try and avoid simply competing on price alone. Look for ways that you can add value to your goods or services that will set you apart from nearly all of your competitors.

Look for all the advice that you can get and analyse your business plans and action immediately things that need adjusting.

Speed is essential in surviving. You must stay ahead of your competition. In a survey of what made the most successful entrepreneurs, it was discovered that it was the speed at how quickly they reacted and put plans into action that really made it for them. Do the same!

Businesses spend huge amounts of money and time in getting new customers. Quite often a large majority of people that respond to the advertising do not always buy on their initial response. However it does not mean that those people will not buy but may not yet be ready or convinced to deal with you. It is estimated that it can take up to 7 contacts with a person before they become your customer.

It is essential therefore that you have a way of recording enquiries and keeping in touch with customers. For Internet enquiries you can use an automatic system such as Aweber to not only to respond to the enquiry but to send a series of broadcast messages.

In addition keep in touch with people by telephone, letter, email and newsletters. Do not fall into the trap of trying to sell to them each time. Build a relationship by giving them information freely. If you sell electronic gadgets for example you could send out a newsletter about new products about to be launched. However rather than trying to sell a product, simply give information and do not even give your price for it.

Occassionally send them a special offer or an invitation to a special event. These people are a potential goldmine if you look after them and once they have become customers are likely to have a long term relationship with your business.

Building lists of potential clients as well as listing existing ones is vital if you are going to be successful and in today’s economic climate your very survival could depend on it.

Many people dream of starting their own business. Some of them do and a some succeed and some fail.
When is the right time to start a business?
The answer probably has less to do with the economy than the person themselves. Preparation is essential if an entrepreneur is going to be successful. The product or service must be good and the business run in an effective manner. One thing that is A Must – CASH-.

Cash is king and when you start a business you must have enough cash to see you through the initial start up costs and your living expenses until the business can sustain your living costs. If you have the ideas, the skills and the cash then start your business.

A recession can be a good time to start because of a number of reasons. One is that if you need business premises they will be more readily available and cheaper to rent or buy at this time. Many goods have been reduced in price so deals can be had on office equipment, machinery, cars, trucks and so on.

The other great thing is of course that by starting in a recession your business will be well placed to grow and do even better when a recession ends.

Many successful businesses today started in a recession and they are well placed to survive this one because they know how to survive and indeed thrive in these times.

So if you want to start a business go for it! Plan well, get good advice and you can succeed.

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