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Atricle Dump - Business Profitability - 10 Ways To Boost
TAPE TIPSSuccessful digitizing and embroideryWHEN TO CHOOSE EMBROIDERYWhen considering the best method for creating a logo or design on a garment or non-apparel item, keep in mind that embroidery offers a rich, textured appearance that will last for years.LOCATIONLeft and Right Chest - The industry standard for design elements is to have the logo on the left chest and any personalization, such as an employee’s name, on the right chest. Sleeve - You might want to consider adding a logo, design or slogan to the left sleeve to add variety. This would create more visibility for businesses who have a message to display. Back – below collar (yoke area) is also an area that can add some variety to design placement. One consideration for this area is to avoid designs that could be irritating for the wearer due to backing. Certain designs that require backing may not be advisable. Sometimes, thickness of thread coming through backing can create a great deal of irritation. Left Chest a
Marketing materials are an expense, and to be sure they are working, you need to get some handle on the return on your investment. At the very least you should be tracking where new business is coming from so you can get an idea of whether your marketing materials are contributing to any new business you get.
7. Spending a significant amount of time in low-return activities
Don’t we all know about this one! If you are spending the majority of your day completing tasks which are administrative in nature and/or which can be easily completed by other people then you are not putting yourself to best use. For most of us, the best value-adding activity we can be involved with is in bringing business in the door by building relationships, talking to prospective customers and promoting our business.
What value do you put on your time? Assign yourself a competitive hourly rate for the market and industry you work in – it might be anywhere from $100 per hour or upwards. Then ask yourself whether you would pay anyone that hourly rate to process accounts or do administrative work. If the answer is
A now retired but well-respected sales trainer once said the three most important things to ensure a successful sale are: close,close, close.There are numerous closing techniques with great names such as the Half Nelson, the Full Nelson, Puppy Dog Close and the Last Ditch Close. While it helps to have a catalogue of techniques to use in different situations knowing three basic methods will get you started. 1) The direct close: 'Fine, let's complete the paperwork', or 'Let's do the cheque now'. 2) The alternative close: 'Do you prefer to pay by cheque or cash?', 'Do you want red or green?', 'Do you want twelve or thirteen?' 3) The major/minor close: 'Will you be requiring ten extra handbooks to go with your course, or 12?', 'Do you want metallic paint on the car?' , 'Would you like a set of shoe trees to go with your shoes?'.There is a golden rule to closing: once you have asked any form of closing question to conclude your business, SHUT UP. Many sellers can't bear what they perceive as the pressure of the silence and start talking ag
So many business owners work hard - really hard - just to break even or keep afloat. Each one of us deserves reward for our efforts, whether that be financial or personal. The question to ask yourself is whether you are directing your effort in the right places, to get the reward you want?
Of the businesses I’ve seen and worked in, there are plenty of ways to mis-spend effort - that is, to work hard - but on the wrong things. Here are ten of the most common areas where the return on your efforts can really be ramped up.
1. Marketing Inconsistently
Once you have committed to owning and running a business you must be equally committed to marketing and selling the products and services of that business. It is difficult, if not impossible, to stay and remain profitable without a commitment to ongoing concerted marketing.
To get more out of your marketing, create a simple marketing plan that includes marketing activity every day, every week and every month. Marketing plans combine formal activities (such as advertising, promotions and writing) with informal activities (such as making new contacts) . Don’t underestimate the power of talking to people about what you do. Use every opportunity, every time.
2. Fear of Asking for the Sale
Isn’t it true that we think asking directly for someone’s business means coming across as pushy or obnoxious. But if we have this attitude, we are letting profit-producing opportunities pass us by. Worrying more about what someone thinks of you than bringing more money into the business is an all too common mistake. If you find it difficult to "ask for the sale", you can be sure that you're not bringing in as much money as you could be.
The most effective way to address this issue it to practice asking for the sale in language that you are comfortable with (not too wishy-washy please). Write down what you want to say first, then practice it over and over. There is also plenty of stuff out there on handling objections. Prepare your responses to the most common objections so you are well armed before you speak with your prospective customers.
3. Getting help
Most business owners possess strengths in one or two specific areas, but whether by necessity or design, they often end up working in areas they aren’t strong in. This builds inefficiencies and potential for mistakes into the business. To compound the problem, we don’t ask for help straight away, but struggle on doing the stuff we are not suited to (saves money right?) But each day that goes by with your business running at less than maximum efficiency, means dollars lost from your pocket.
Work out where you add the most and least value in your business. Pay someone to help you out with these low value add activities. Your time is best spent where you add the most value. If you can do more of this kind of activity, your business will benefit.
4. Use your Existing Customer Base
All the research tells us that it is easier and cheaper to keep working with customers you already have, than to get new customers into your business. If you are not following up with past customers on a regular basis you are reducing your profitability potential.
Develop strategies to keep your customers with you, such as loyalty plans, regular communications and special offers. Implement a regular process for following up your customers after they buy from you.
5. Managing Expenses
Savvy business owners regularly appraise their business expenses and find ways to reduce costs without sacrificing quality. If you haven't completed a cost analysis lately, you might be paying more than you need to be, which will reduce your profitability.
At least once per quarter you should review your expenses and negotiate for adjustments as appropriate. Categorize everything you spend under 3 headings: Essential, Nice to Have and Non-Essential. Everything in the last two categories is up for grabs – be ruthless!
6. Spending large amounts on glossy, slick marketing materials and expecting business to pour in without any additional effort.
Glossy brochures and slick marketing materials are a nice addition to more active forms of marketing such as meeting people, calling people and speaking to people. However, brochures and business cards, no matter how beautiful, do not replace direct contact. If you are spending money on flashy marketing materials in the place of marketing directly, your profitability will suffer. The most effective form of marketing comes from you talking about your business to others.
Marketing materials are an expense, and to be sure they are working, you need to get some handle on the return on your investment. At the very least you should be tracking where new business is coming from so you can get an idea of whether your marketing materials are contributing to any new business you get.
7. Spending a significant amount of time in low-return activities
Don’t we all know about this one! If you are spending the majority of your day completing tasks which are administrative in nature and/or which can be easily completed by other people then you are not putting yourself to best use. For most of us, the best value-adding activity we can be involved with is in bringing business in the door by building relationships, talking to prospective customers and promoting our business.
What value do you put on your time? Assign yourself a competitive hourly rate for the market and industry you work in – it might be anywhere from $100 per hour or upwards. Then ask yourself whether you would pay anyone that hourly rate to process accounts or do administrative work. If the answer is
When you get a call from a school administrator inviting you to interview for a teaching job, how do you feel? Happy? Elated? Excited? Nervous? Scared stiff?You don't need to worry about the interview if you're a well-prepared, qualified candidate. Preparing for a teaching interview is a lot like studying for a test. You can review commonly asked questions, think about what you'll say beforehand, and go in to do your best. If you prepare beforehand, the interview questions will seem routine and familiar. You'll have answers on the tip of your tongue, ready-to-go.Below is a list of six commonly asked teacher interview questions from my eBook, Guide to Getting the Teaching Job of Your Dreams. How would you answer each question?1. Tell us about yourself. This will be the first question at almost every interview. Just give a brief background in about three sentences. Tell them what colleges you graduated from, what you're certified to teach, what your teaching & working experiences are, and why you'd love the job.
2. Fear of Asking for the Sale
Isn’t it true that we think asking directly for someone’s business means coming across as pushy or obnoxious. But if we have this attitude, we are letting profit-producing opportunities pass us by. Worrying more about what someone thinks of you than bringing more money into the business is an all too common mistake. If you find it difficult to "ask for the sale", you can be sure that you're not bringing in as much money as you could be.
The most effective way to address this issue it to practice asking for the sale in language that you are comfortable with (not too wishy-washy please). Write down what you want to say first, then practice it over and over. There is also plenty of stuff out there on handling objections. Prepare your responses to the most common objections so you are well armed before you speak with your prospective customers.
3. Getting help
Most business owners possess strengths in one or two specific areas, but whether by necessity or design, they often end up working in areas they aren’t strong in. This builds inefficiencies and potential for mistakes into the business. To compound the problem, we don’t ask for help straight away, but struggle on doing the stuff we are not suited to (saves money right?) But each day that goes by with your business running at less than maximum efficiency, means dollars lost from your pocket.
Work out where you add the most and least value in your business. Pay someone to help you out with these low value add activities. Your time is best spent where you add the most value. If you can do more of this kind of activity, your business will benefit.
4. Use your Existing Customer Base
All the research tells us that it is easier and cheaper to keep working with customers you already have, than to get new customers into your business. If you are not following up with past customers on a regular basis you are reducing your profitability potential.
Develop strategies to keep your customers with you, such as loyalty plans, regular communications and special offers. Implement a regular process for following up your customers after they buy from you.
5. Managing Expenses
Savvy business owners regularly appraise their business expenses and find ways to reduce costs without sacrificing quality. If you haven't completed a cost analysis lately, you might be paying more than you need to be, which will reduce your profitability.
At least once per quarter you should review your expenses and negotiate for adjustments as appropriate. Categorize everything you spend under 3 headings: Essential, Nice to Have and Non-Essential. Everything in the last two categories is up for grabs – be ruthless!
6. Spending large amounts on glossy, slick marketing materials and expecting business to pour in without any additional effort.
Glossy brochures and slick marketing materials are a nice addition to more active forms of marketing such as meeting people, calling people and speaking to people. However, brochures and business cards, no matter how beautiful, do not replace direct contact. If you are spending money on flashy marketing materials in the place of marketing directly, your profitability will suffer. The most effective form of marketing comes from you talking about your business to others.
Marketing materials are an expense, and to be sure they are working, you need to get some handle on the return on your investment. At the very least you should be tracking where new business is coming from so you can get an idea of whether your marketing materials are contributing to any new business you get.
7. Spending a significant amount of time in low-return activities
Don’t we all know about this one! If you are spending the majority of your day completing tasks which are administrative in nature and/or which can be easily completed by other people then you are not putting yourself to best use. For most of us, the best value-adding activity we can be involved with is in bringing business in the door by building relationships, talking to prospective customers and promoting our business.
What value do you put on your time? Assign yourself a competitive hourly rate for the market and industry you work in – it might be anywhere from $100 per hour or upwards. Then ask yourself whether you would pay anyone that hourly rate to process accounts or do administrative work. If the answer is
If you enjoy taking pictures what could be more thrilling than doing it for a living? Just think of how wonderful it could be to be a paid invite to hundreds of weddings and parties a year, to capture joyful family memories that will last a lifetime everyday, to watch children grow up, or even to just to experience others smile everyday of your career. With photography you can do just that. And what is great about the photography industry is there’s more than enough work for the freelance/work-at-home photographer.To get started you need to get the right equipment. This will require you to decide exactly how far you want to take your business. If have a room in your home that you could set up as an office you might want to look into setting up a backdrop and lighting equipment. On the other hand perhaps you don’t have the space in your house. Don’t let this discourage you. You can still compete in the photography realm even without an office. One of the greatest thing about having a work-at-home photography business is that you can offer most of the same s
Work out where you add the most and least value in your business. Pay someone to help you out with these low value add activities. Your time is best spent where you add the most value. If you can do more of this kind of activity, your business will benefit.
4. Use your Existing Customer Base
All the research tells us that it is easier and cheaper to keep working with customers you already have, than to get new customers into your business. If you are not following up with past customers on a regular basis you are reducing your profitability potential.
Develop strategies to keep your customers with you, such as loyalty plans, regular communications and special offers. Implement a regular process for following up your customers after they buy from you.
5. Managing Expenses
Savvy business owners regularly appraise their business expenses and find ways to reduce costs without sacrificing quality. If you haven't completed a cost analysis lately, you might be paying more than you need to be, which will reduce your profitability.
At least once per quarter you should review your expenses and negotiate for adjustments as appropriate. Categorize everything you spend under 3 headings: Essential, Nice to Have and Non-Essential. Everything in the last two categories is up for grabs – be ruthless!
6. Spending large amounts on glossy, slick marketing materials and expecting business to pour in without any additional effort.
Glossy brochures and slick marketing materials are a nice addition to more active forms of marketing such as meeting people, calling people and speaking to people. However, brochures and business cards, no matter how beautiful, do not replace direct contact. If you are spending money on flashy marketing materials in the place of marketing directly, your profitability will suffer. The most effective form of marketing comes from you talking about your business to others.
Marketing materials are an expense, and to be sure they are working, you need to get some handle on the return on your investment. At the very least you should be tracking where new business is coming from so you can get an idea of whether your marketing materials are contributing to any new business you get.
7. Spending a significant amount of time in low-return activities
Don’t we all know about this one! If you are spending the majority of your day completing tasks which are administrative in nature and/or which can be easily completed by other people then you are not putting yourself to best use. For most of us, the best value-adding activity we can be involved with is in bringing business in the door by building relationships, talking to prospective customers and promoting our business.
What value do you put on your time? Assign yourself a competitive hourly rate for the market and industry you work in – it might be anywhere from $100 per hour or upwards. Then ask yourself whether you would pay anyone that hourly rate to process accounts or do administrative work. If the answer is
A recent study by Ramsey and Sohi in the Journal of Academy of Marketing Science clearly establishes that a customer’s perception of how well someone who sells listens, has a positive association with trust. Listening includes such behaviors as giving your full attention to the customer, responding to acknowledge understanding and asking clarifying questions.People say I’m a good listener.In my corporate training programs for sales people, customer service representatives and organizational managers, I offer a six hearing aid approach to listening:First, give your full attention to the person you are talking with.Second, sort through any filters or barriers to your listening fully.Third, anticipate keywords.Fourth, ask clarifying questions before you do your talking.Fifth, listen for feelings first and specifics second.Sixth, take notes of keywords, important ideas and the whole picture as you listen.And who holds the advantage to be able to do this best – the introvert or the extrovert? Yes; i
5. Managing Expenses
Savvy business owners regularly appraise their business expenses and find ways to reduce costs without sacrificing quality. If you haven't completed a cost analysis lately, you might be paying more than you need to be, which will reduce your profitability.
At least once per quarter you should review your expenses and negotiate for adjustments as appropriate. Categorize everything you spend under 3 headings: Essential, Nice to Have and Non-Essential. Everything in the last two categories is up for grabs – be ruthless!
6. Spending large amounts on glossy, slick marketing materials and expecting business to pour in without any additional effort.
Glossy brochures and slick marketing materials are a nice addition to more active forms of marketing such as meeting people, calling people and speaking to people. However, brochures and business cards, no matter how beautiful, do not replace direct contact. If you are spending money on flashy marketing materials in the place of marketing directly, your profitability will suffer. The most effective form of marketing comes from you talking about your business to others.
Marketing materials are an expense, and to be sure they are working, you need to get some handle on the return on your investment. At the very least you should be tracking where new business is coming from so you can get an idea of whether your marketing materials are contributing to any new business you get.
7. Spending a significant amount of time in low-return activities
Don’t we all know about this one! If you are spending the majority of your day completing tasks which are administrative in nature and/or which can be easily completed by other people then you are not putting yourself to best use. For most of us, the best value-adding activity we can be involved with is in bringing business in the door by building relationships, talking to prospective customers and promoting our business.
What value do you put on your time? Assign yourself a competitive hourly rate for the market and industry you work in – it might be anywhere from $100 per hour or upwards. Then ask yourself whether you would pay anyone that hourly rate to process accounts or do administrative work. If the answer is
Mauritius is a small island in the Indian Ocean with a population of 1.2 million inhabitants. It is well known primarily as a tourist destination. Its economy is based on 4 major pillars: Agriculture, Manufacturing, Tourism and Services sector. Unlike many other African countries,Mauritius political climate has been very stable. Moreover its economy has been booming and becoming more diversified in the last 20 years. The economy was traditionally dependent on Agriculture. Nowadays textile and tourism are the driving force for the Mauritian Economy. The labour force requirements of Mauritius had to accomodate with all those changes.As more and more Mauritian students graduate from High School and look forward to pursue higher level education overseas, http://www.jobseek.com.mu brings to them an exhaustive list of most popular universities around the globe. Finding universities overseas is now easier than ever. France,UK,South Africa and Australia are the most popular countries where Mauritians are
Marketing materials are an expense, and to be sure they are working, you need to get some handle on the return on your investment. At the very least you should be tracking where new business is coming from so you can get an idea of whether your marketing materials are contributing to any new business you get.
7. Spending a significant amount of time in low-return activities
Don’t we all know about this one! If you are spending the majority of your day completing tasks which are administrative in nature and/or which can be easily completed by other people then you are not putting yourself to best use. For most of us, the best value-adding activity we can be involved with is in bringing business in the door by building relationships, talking to prospective customers and promoting our business.
What value do you put on your time? Assign yourself a competitive hourly rate for the market and industry you work in – it might be anywhere from $100 per hour or upwards. Then ask yourself whether you would pay anyone that hourly rate to process accounts or do administrative work. If the answer is no, find a way of getting these low-return activities done for a lower hourly rate. Hire a bookkeeper or assistant for a few hours a week, and spend your time doing the valuable work.
8. Not charging enough for what you do.
This challenge seems to arise especially for people who sell services. Either we feel embarrassed to ask for the amount we want, or we simply accept less money than we need - so we get "some money" rather than "no money". But beware, after a while, working for too little can leave you exhausted and resentful, not to mention the impact it has on your profitability.
You do not need to defend an increase in your fees either. It is normal business strategy to review fee structures, make changes and advise customers. And contrary to our fears, it is often the case that business levels improve after fees are increased. It seems that we attract a whole different class of customer when our fees reflect the value we provide.
9. Not making enough use of technology which could save time and effort.
As a business owner, you have a fixed amount of time and energy within which you must maximize your profits. Technology can help you do this in the form of autoresponders, voicemail, wireless internet connections, speech recognition software, SMS from your computer and so on. All of these tools are widely available to us, and are designed to save time and effort. Each of us needs to continually look for ways to make business processes more efficient by using inexpensive technology.
Often the problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know. Some wonderful tool might be available but we don’t know it exists. You need to stay on top of the latest products by regularly checking in with business and telecommunications sites.
10. Sticking with outdated business models or plans.
You’ve all heard it before - doing things the way they have always been done means that you will get the results that you always got. If you are not satisfied with your results then you need to re-look at what and how you are doing things. An astute entrepreneur has a mindset that is always challenging the way things are done in the business.
Another great way of coming across new ideas is to attend seminars and conferences on various topics. If you get a single idea to put into practice in your business, then that seminar has been worthwhile.
If you are serious about improving your business' profitability (and aren’t we all?), then taking action on these areas will help you make more money and have more fun in your business. And that’s what it’s all about really.
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