Who is the easiest person in the world to sell to? That’s an easy question to answer, yet one most business owners, unfortunately never ask themselves. You see…the easiest person to sell to is one you’ve sold to before. It’s someone who already trusts you, someone, who’s already had a “Wow” experience with your company. And, usually, it’s someone who is willing to give you a testimonial…if you ask for it. But, you have to ask for it! Here are 4 quickfire ways to build your store of testimonials like crazy: Use industry endorsements and/or...

Find your Customers Most businesses already have at their fingertips a free source of customer data which is either under-used or not used effectively. This includes data from both sales and enquiries that have been made. Other sources of free data include suppliers and business contacts from events attended, such as networking meetings, trade fairs etc. While many companies may retain this data in simple spreadsheet form it is not always used to best effect. Third-party data, for which there is normally a charge, can also be a useful source. Some organisations when you join, like the local...

Some SME’s, that did not legally require to have document management systems in place, originally bought into the idea of becoming ISO 9001 registered on the basis that having such a system in place would help them access new markets and build customer confidence. Many felt that implementing and maintaining such a system would not require any additional staff. The work involved could be carried out by existing staff, without much in the way of additional workload! In the early days, this proved not to be the case. Whole new departments rose out of the need to monitor and control...

Recently we’ve been working with a number of start-up businesses which inevitably leads to discussing logos and their branding. Design agencies love working with start-ups because they’re-energised, innovative and bursting with enthusiasm. There’s everything to play for. And good design can make a huge difference to their businesses future, which is rewarding for everyone. Entrepreneurs are passionate about their products and meeting start-ups at the beginning of their journey, it’s impossible not to admire these people’s skill, dedication and belief in their product. For...

Let’s face it every business want to attract new customers. But how can small business owners go about this without spending a fortune on advertising? Below are a few tips for success which you may find useful. Decide on Your Target Market While some services and products may be suitable for everyone, they will undoubtedly have more appeal for certain segments of the market. So, start by deciding whether you are primarily a B2B or a B2C facing company and choose which to focus your attention on. Next, decide which industries your products/services are best suited to. For instance, businesses...

Ever get that sinking feeling when listening to a presenter give a presentation which, word for word, is reproduced on their PowerPoint screen presentation? Don’t fall into this same trap. Make your presentation count. Aside from the problem of viewing wordy screens at the back of an auditorium, nothing is designed to turn an audience off more than repeating what they have already seen with their own eyes and digested, particularly as a human’s mental ability to scan and digest information on a screen is considerably quicker than the time it takes for someone to read out the information....