Greetings readers and bloggers.
Welcome to another entry in my blog.
Today I focuss on small business owners. Here are some tips that can help you
become more productive with your business.
1. Use the diary in your cellphone.
Most cellphones today have diaries in them and you can sync your main diary with it and schedule your meetings on the go. If you have a blackberry it will even tell you the time you have available during the day. This is most valuable as a business owner because time is precious and you have to use it as best you can each day creatively.
2. Market your business.
When you are starting out you are going to have to shove your business name down peoples throats.
That means branding your car on the sides and even the back. When people sit in 2 hour traffic jams and stare at the car in front of them they just might see a business they need.
3. Give out those business cards.
Design some catchy business cards and give them out wherever you go, at networking events, conferences, coffee shops, wherever you go. They should clearly display your name, position, company, what you do, contact details, email, website, twitter username and maybe even your blog.
4. Advertise your business.
You will have to start advertising your business as well. That means advertising in publications or newspapers that your target market reads. If you have a small budget you can even advertise on free sites on the internet and place ads on the internet. Use your blog or website to advertise too.
5. Start a email newsletter.
Work on a simple email newsletter that you can send out to clients and potential clients. Get their permission and then email it to them weekly or monthly filled with tips that can help them and then offer your services. This is a proven sales strategy.
6. How do you answer the phone?
Well, how do you? Is it, Hi. or Ya or Hello (long pause as you wait if any telemarketer is going to hit you with a sales pitch for some new mobile phone.) Make sure that you treat each call as a potential sales call and when you answer your phone remember that you represent your business. So something good would be 'Hello, This Is John Smith from ABC Cleaners how can I help you?'
7. Use your invoices as sales options.
When you send out your invoices to clients don't forget to send out any new specials you have or new services you are providing.
8. Inbox, Outbox.
Make sure you keep a clean office and that means as bills or receipts or admin comes in it is handled promptly and filed in the right folders.
9. Email tips.
Have a good email address which represents your company name. Make sure you also have a good email signature at the end of your email with all your contact details and maybe a special you are running. File your emails in folders such as action, to do, next week, next month, clients. Set up whatever folders you want but just make sure you know what your system is and clear it monthly.
10. Network, network, network.
Attend as many networking events as you can from business meetings to conferences to exhibits.
They will help you out and meet new people, find out what they do, get interested in what they do and get a business card and give yours and in a day or two email them to set up a coffee meeting. Take it from there.
Well hope those tips help you out in your business and it leads to making your small business a big business :)
Contact me if you would like me to come by and show you more business tips.
Fly high, Fly Free
Fred Felton
Motivational Speaker & Biz Analyst & IT Consultant
Falcon's Cove Consulting
email: falconscove@gmail.com
email us to book Fred for a motivational talk or a talk on how to use Twitter for business.
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