Blogging can increase your sales

Do you sometimes get stuck for something to write on your blog?

Me too.

I had an interesting and informative morning at dawn brewers excellent blog posts action class  today. Came away with a very useful action checklist for every blog post I write. This will encourage me to blog more often which coupled with the various social media platforms ( Twitter, Facebook etc) will make my online presence more complete.

Of course online marketing  should be one part of your overall marketing strategy . Consider  your Outbound Marketing ( also known as offline marketing) and your Inbound Marketing (also known as online marketing) as two sides of the same coin- both are needed to deliver the maximum business results.

A cohesive marketing strategy properly implemented will achieve more sales for your business and hence improve your bottom line profits.

Want to know more about writing for the web then hop over to see dawn.

Want to increase your sales with a dynamic marketing strategy? then contact me at Janette Whitney & Associates.

Are you ready?

The London-Surrey Cycle Classic test event

The Olympic Cycle race test event will be held on the Sunday 14^th August 2011 – just over 4 weeks time – will your business be affected? Click here to view a map of the route.

The London-Surrey Cycle Classic test event being held on Sunday 14th August as part of LOCOG’s comprehensive sports testing programme. In order to deliver this exciting event there will be road closures and parking suspensions click here for more detailed information along the route within London and Surrey. Arrangements will be made to minimise disruption for local residents and businesses. The test event will provide an opportunity for you to consider how your business may be effected and the potential impacts during the Olympic event on the 28th and 29th July 2012.

Think and plan ahead, what will you be doing to ensure that you don’t lose out on valuable business during the local olympic event?

More importantly how can you capitalise on the extra potential sales of your products and services with the vastly increased numbers of potential cusromers right on your doorstep.

For professional & independant business advice contact  Janette Whitney at Award Winning Business Consultants, Janette Whitney & Associates on 01403 733671 or email jw@whitneyassocs.co.uk.  

Are your sales increasing?

One of the biggest sales and marketing problems businesses can face is getting people whom seem interested in buying something to actually take the plunge and hand over their money.

Because let’s be honest, it’s actually pretty easy to attract attention to your business and meet prospective customers these days. The internet has made it simple to give your business a marketing presence (your website) and drive people to it (online advertising and search engine optimisation).

The key then to a successful business is not just one which attracts prospects, but one which has fail-safe systems to convert them into revenue.

Here are 5 tips to improve the prospect conversion rates for your business

1. Track and measure- First you need to know how your business currently performs. Set up simple systems to monitor the number of leads your business gets and where they have come from, then compare these figures to your sales figures.

2. Identify target audience and focus on it – You need to know who your most likely buyers are. Don’t just say ‘everyone’- even if anyone can buy what you sell, your business will perform better if you focus on a specific target audience.

3. Don’t over promise – Review your marketing materials to see if they promise things your business cannot really deliver. Low conversion rates can be an indication that prospects are being attracted by marketing materials, but when they chat to your sales team just don’t believe the business can live up to its promises.

4. Make sure sales staff know how to present – Another possibility is that your sales team aren’t presenting the business properly. Do they really understand the benefits of the business and how to communicate them to buyers? Are they making it easy for potential customers to say ‘yes’?

5. Ask for the business – Finally, ensure that you are actually asking the potential customer to buy from you. So many businesses forget to do this!  Ask questions about their needs, work out how you can fulfil these needs, and then ask if they want to buy.

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Contact me at Award Winning Business Consultants  Janette Whitney & Associates on 01403 733671, for impartial business advice & solutions.     

Much press coverage has been seen regarding the amendments to the Companies Act which came into force at the beginning of 2007 relating to your website and emails and the risk of £1000 fines for not complying with disclosure of the required information.

This caught the attention of limited companies and limited liability partnerships as this new piece of legislation only applies to them. However, most business owners (over 50% according to the Dept.for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform – formerly known as the D.T.I), do not realise that there at present 6 pieces of legislation which your website needs to comply with whatever form of business you trade under- , whether that is as a sole trader, partnership, Limited company, Limited liability partnership or franchise etc.

Which legislation affects your particular website will depend on what its pages contain, but the need to comply is vital as the fines and policing of internet operations are becoming more and more stringent, just in the same way that as a retailer with a high street premises you would have to comply with certain regulations – your website is your online shop window and the more complicated it is the more rules it needs to adhere to.

We have a quick and cost effective solution for you- our Website Compliance Check service.

 Our Website Compliance Check :

•  Identifies which pieces of legislation your website needs to comply with
• Provides the necessary legal wording directly to you via email 
• Identifies general amendments required to your website to comply with the new legislation

To start your website compliance check  - simply fill out our easy form and we’ll return all amendments & legal documentation for you to upload onto your website, within 5 working days.

  Our service costs just £100- a small price to pay to keep the right side of the law.

 For more information or to start your website compliance check please contact me at Janette Whitney & Associates, Business Consultants email jw@whitneyassocs.co.uk   

Is this your Customer?

In the current tight trading climate , it is now more important than ever to hold on to your customers especially as a recent survey for T Mobile  has revealed that on average each lost customer costs small firms £4910 in lost profits.

The survey identified that a lack of responsiveness is viewed as the biggest cause of poor customer service. Key survey findings are:

•  Each lost customer costs small businesses £4910
• 37% state that a lack of responsiveness is to blame for poor customer service
• 90% of small businesses aim to reply to customer calls and emails within 24 hours
• Small business owners spend on average 37% of their time away from the office
• Over a fifth of small businesses believe that mobile technology increases responsiveness by more than 50%

In the last 12 months, small companies have lost a least 4 customers each which could equate to c £20,000 in lost profits!

Even though the survey showed that 88% of business reply to customer emails and 93% return customer calls within 24 hours, with a third of businesses responding to customer complaints immediately – there is still a need to review speed of response to customers if businesses are to remain competitive and retain customers.

Evidence suggests that larger competitors are much quicker to respond to customers and this is a significant threat to small businesses. An immediate response to customers is obviously ideal, but at the very least small businesses should examine ways in which queries either via phone or email can be replied to within a maximum of one to three hours. (What would you expect if you were the customer?)

 As resources can be limited for small businesses it is important to consider how technology, especially internet enabled mobile devices, can be used to ensure that customer relationships are never jeopardised through a lack of responsiveness.

Superior Customer service is key for small businesses not only to compete more effectively with larger companies, but to thrive and prosper.

For professional & impartial business advice contact Janette Whitney  at Award Winning Business Consultants, Janette Whitney & Associates on 01403 733671

 

Making important telephone calls as opposed to a face to face conversation can be difficult and sometimes more unnerving. You can’t assess the other person eyeball to eyeball, you can’t see their body language and facial expressions, all of which makes it more difficult for you to gauge the success or otherwise of what you are trying to achieve.

 So here are 5 tips to help increase the odds in your favour:

1.      Get off on the right foot and ask if it’s a convenient time to talk.

 How often have you been in an interview with someone, the phone rings and they stop to pick it up? Yes, it’s rude and disrespectful to you and yet it’s the caller who gets the sharp ‘YES?’, as if it’s their fault!

So to ensure you don’t unnecessarily start off a phone conversation on a poor note, ask if it’s a good time talk. Give them the chance to say no. At least you have shown some consideration by giving him the opportunity to continue or not.

2.      Immediately build rapport.

To start immediately building rapport greet the person by their name. You are less likely to do this during a face to face meeting, but it’s essential during a phone conversation.

3. Keep the rapport going.

Keep the rapport going, by liberally using their name during the call and use it more frequently than you would normally do. Use of someone’s name replaces that feeling of closeness which comes naturally during a face to face meeting.

4. Smile with your voice.

Most people come across as plain bored when speaking on the phone, which again is a reaction to the lack of physical contact. Make a conscious effort to sound bright and breezy.

5. Finally, draw to a natural conclusion

Some people find it hard to finish a phone call, not wanting to interrupt the other person in full flow. Always try to lead the close by agreeing the next action –‘I will call you next week to discuss this point….’ AND most importantly stand up when you say your concluding phrase, as this naturally changes the tone of your voice which signals the end of the call without having to make excuses to hang up.

 Try these ideas next time you have an important phone call to make and see your success rate soar. Let me know how you get on.- all comments welcome

For professional & impartial business advice contact  Janette Whitney & Associates, Business Consultants on 01403 733671.

1.    Understand that people buy people – work on the personal connection with your customer.

2.    Ask questions- understand their needs before offering your solutions.

3.    Listen harder and for longer – don’t interrupt with your sales messages.

4.    Offer your solution as a question: ‘ Would I be correct in saying that you’re looking for……’

5.    Be an expert but not a bore.

6.    Take your time, or more accurately move at the customers pace
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7.    Follow up- following delivery- prepare the ground for the next sale.

8.    Particularly now- don’t avoid the small sale, it’ll start the relationship and build customer confidence.

9.    Take a colleague on a sales call – the feedback is invaluable.

10.    Don’t waste time on a no-hoper – decide on when to call it a day and stick to it.

For professional & impartial Business Advice contact Janette Whitney & Associates, Business Consultants on 01403 733671